Lupinranger VS Patranger AU: The Mole

[CaptainNinnin]

Summary

Have you ever thought about what could have been? Here is a story about what could have been if the Lupinranger had a Patranger mole besides Takao Noël. Super Sentai is owned by Toei Company, Ltd. I own nothing but the idea.

Chapter 1

Myoujin Tsukasa didn’t know what she was going to find when she approached the Bistrot Jurer. After the past few days with Giwi Newzie and his boss Raimon Gaorufang she thought that she knew something that she knew would change her life forever. And when she entered she knew she was right.

There was Yano Kairi, Yoimachi Tooma, Hayami Umika, and Takao Noël. They didn’t notice her yet; they were trying to pull a chair from Noël’s hands like he wanted to stay here. “So it is true,” she said to them.

They turned as one to see her standing there alone. “What’s true? That we don’t like freeloaders that haven’t paid for anything all day?” Kairi asked, trying to smile at her.

“No, that you three are the Lupinranger,” she said, looking at them.

“They most certainly are not the Lupinranger. I just like the atmosphere.” Noël said, trying to put on his usual charm as he approached her. Tsukasa than hold back and slapped him.

“Do you think I’m an idiot? Kairi was at the same night club as Giwi. And Lupin Red just happened to know how that pendent worked. I’m not blind. I was the one that thought these three were the Lupinranger the first time. So don’t patronize me. The four of you are the Lupinranger.” she said in a huff.

Kairi looked defeated in a way. He knew that she wasn’t going to believe anything that they said. Any lie that they could come up with she was going pursue this theory doggedly.

“But what I want to know is why did you three turn to this? And why is Noël acting more like a Lupinranger than a Patranger? Especially for this last battle?” she demanded, looking at them all one by one.

Kairi took a breath. “Oni-son,” Kairi said defeated.

“What are you doing?” Tooma demanded. He grabbed him by the collar as Umika started to panic. Noël looked on calmly.

That’s when Tsukasa tried to pull Tooma off him. “There is no point in hiding anything anymore. Just tell me. Why?” she demanded. As she just managed to pull Tooma off him.

“A year ago, I got into a fight with my Oni-son. I shoved him down and left him in a back alley. I then walked past a strange man that was eating ice. Oni-son screamed. I rushed back and found him encased in ice. It shattered into a thousand pieces.” Kairi said.

He knew that they were caught. But what he couldn’t understand, was why is she alone now. The last time that they had thought that they were the Lupinranger, she was with the other Patrangers. But she was alone.

“The same for the two of you?” Tsukasa asked, turning to Tooma and Umika and thinking about there investigation. Tooma’s fiancé. Umika’s possible friend.

“Yes,” Tooma said, looking at her with disdain that they had been caught and his wish could never come true now. That was the only thing keeping him fighting. That he was fighting for her, and now that was gone.

“But why do you want the Lupin Collection?” she asked, looking at them.

“Because it’s the only way for our wish to come true,” Noël said, looking at her. Like Kairi, he was wondering why she was alone and not with the others. And why if she had thought them the Lupinranger she hadn’t reported this to Hilltop. Her commanding officer.

“‘Our wish’?” she asked.

“Yes, each of the four of us has lost someone special to us. We have been told that if we gather the Lupin Collection together, we can get them back,” he said, looking at her with his sad smile.

Tsukasa looked at the faces of the four of them. Then she pulled up her VS Changer and VS Vehicle. She loved the day that she had gotten them. She felt helpless at the possibility of never being able to make her dream of a happy, peaceful world come true. Now she could fight to make that happen. So that she could live happily with her grandparents. But now she saw them in a different light.

“Take them,” she said to Kairi. Trying to hand him her VS Changer and Vehicle.

Tooma and Umika couldn’t believe their eyes as Tsukasa was handing them her Lupin Collection pieces.

“What?” Kairi asked.

“You need to collect all of the Lupin Collection right? These two pieces are part of the collection. So take them.” she said with a sad smile.

“Won’t you get in trouble for losing these?” Umika asked her.

“I’ll worry about that. You need them more than me,” she said.

“This could be a trick,” Tooma said, eyeing both her and the pieces she was holding out for Kairi to take.

“I can confirm that it isn’t.” a voice said, from behind Tsukasa who jumped.

She turned to see an elderly man standing in the doorway. “Kogure-san?” Umika said, seeing him. He walked into the Bistro and grabbed Tsukasa’s pieces and set them down on the table.

“I came to collect the piece you retrieved from Raimon,” she said, looking at them.

“How can you know that she isn’t lying to us?” Tooma asked of the man.

“He has his ways,” Noël said with a sly smile.

“Um, who are you?” Tsukasa asked, him unsure of what was happening.

“My name is Kogure. And I am the butler for the Lupin family,” he said with a smile.

“Lupin family?” she asked.

“Yes. A long time ago, Arsène Lupin collected the Lupin Collection. Then the collection was stolen by the Gangler. They now use it to do as they please. And Noël and I work for the family.” he said with a smile.

Tsukasa turned to look at Noël. “You ARE a mole?” she asked.

“I prefer to think of it as an undercover worker,” he said with a smile.

“I joined the GSP to do just as I said. To make the world a better place using the collection. I was trained in modifying the collection so that humans could use it. Your piece, along with the other Trigger Machines, are my creations.” Noël said.

“What about their pieces?” Tsukasa said, looking at everyone else.

“Ours were modified by Arsène Lupin himself,” Kairi said.

“Wait. You said you made the Trigger Machines. But weren’t two of them held by the Maximoff brothers?” she asked, thinking back to where they found Drill and Crane Trigger Machines.

“Yes, I don’t know how they fell into there hands all I know is that there has to be some leak or connection between the GSP and the Gangler,” Noël said looking at her.

She thought about it for a second. And she remembered. How easily they had snuck into the HQ to revive the other Maximoff brother. How they just happened to be assigned to a movie that was run by a Gangler. Everything started to fall into place in her mind. There had to be someone in the GSP in league with the Gangler.

“That is why I would like you to keep these pieces for the time being,” Kogure said to her.

“But they need them to complete the collection.” she protested.

“And that would include your fellow Patranger. It would be better for everyone involved if we had you on the inside working alongside Noël to both protect the pieces that are still inside the Gangler safes. And help us figure out who, how, and why the Gangler and the GSP are connected.” Kogure said, looking at her handing her the VS Changer and VS Vehicle just as he had with Kairi, Tooma, and Umika.

She took them. And Umika started to celebrate. “I always wanted another woman on the team. Being with these two is a handful,” she said hugging Tsukasa.

“And working with you isn’t a bed of roses,” Kairi said, tweaking her nose like he was fond of.

Tooma still looked a little uneasy about all this. He didn’t trust Tsukasa. Or how Kogure knew that she wasn’t lying. But he was going to keep it to himself for the moment. But he was going to keep a close eye on her as she started laughing with everyone.

*     *     *

Tsukasa started to smile as she walked back to HQ. The week before she had wanted to see the Lupinranger in cuffs. And her fellow Pateranger still did. But she knew that she would protect them and their mission. She was going to help them see their loved ones again. Even if she had to steal the other VS Vehicles from her friends. But just as she started to enjoy herself with her new nakama, she got the call to return.

She was enjoying herself. She “helped” the others as they tried to evict their house guest. But what she was really doing was laughing on the inside. She couldn’t remember the last time she had fun with friends. With all the Gangler that was on the loose. Even her last day off was interrupted by the Gangler. That was truly wonderful.

“What is with that smile Tsukasa-sempai?” Hikawa Sakuya asked as he greeted her.

“Nothing, I just had a wonderful break,” she said with a smile.

“It was nice of Commander Hilltop to give us some time off after Giwi and Raimon. I thought we were done for,” Sakuya said, with a smile.

“You are too soft, Sakuya. As long as there are Gangler and Lupinranger. We shouldn’t rest.” Asaka Keiichiro said to him.

Tsukasa smiled at her coworkers and friends. If it wasn’t for Commander Hilltop ordering all of them to stand down for the day they would have been here working.

“Keiichiro, we were all hurt during the last few battles. And if we don’t take time and rest, we might fall to the Gangler,” she said, patting him on the shoulder.

“And those blasted Kaitou,” Keiichiro said. It had hurt his pride to have to turn to the Kaitou to help them take down a Gangler.

“Yes them too,” Tsukasa said, with a smile thinking about the fact that she was now a Lupinranger mole. She knew that she could hide her new allegiance from everyone here. That wasn’t a worry. But why did Commander Hilltop call them in?

“I’m sorry to call you in everyone. There has been a development.” Hilltop said. He looked a little uneasy about something.

“What is it, sir? Is it a Gangler or the Lupinranger?” Keiichiro asked, looking at him.

Tsukasa knew that it wasn't the Lupinranger she had just left them trying to throw Noël out. So she was on guard right away. She knew that it had to be a Gangler.

“Neither, unfortunately. Because of the events with Good Cool Kaiser VSX and Raimon, there has been a demand that we capture the Lupinranger and there VS Vehicles,” he said.

Tsukasa looked at him, he must have been chewed out for their actions. “But there hasn’t been any headway in finding their identities has there?” she asked. She hid her concern for her new nakama with curiosity.

“No, and that is the problem. They believe that we should have found them before now. And that it should never have gotten to the battle with Raimon. So they have hired the one person they think that could find out their identities.” he said looking at his Patranger.

“What do you mean sir?” Keiichiro asked.

“They have hired Herlock Sholmes,” he said.

“The famous detective that is making a name for himself in London?” Sakuya said with a smile.

“That’s the one. He will be coming in a few days. You three have been chosen as his guards and welcoming him to Japan.” he said.

“Nice. I can’t wait to meet Herlock-san. I followed his work all over London.” Sakuya said, excited to meet his idol.

“We shouldn’t have to turn to private detectives,” Keiichiro said to Commander Hilltop.

“I know, but they won’t hear anything else. He is coming.” Hilltop said.

Tsukasa tried to not act worried. She had heard a lot about this detective. If anyone could find her new secret, it was him.

[CaptainNinnin]

Chapter 2

Tsukasa stood there with the other Lupinranger. They were waiting for Herlock Sholmes. She was still nervous that he might figure out that she was now a Lupinranger mole. She had managed to hide her nerves from her follow Patranger. But she read everything that she could about this guy if anyone could figure out that she was a mole it was him.

“Hello, it is nice to meet you Herlock-san,” Keiichiro said. He was putting a good front right now, but it was killing him that they had to turn to a private detective for this.

She was nervous as hell, especially when she saw Herlock identify a Gangler among the reporters. But she smiled on the inside as saw a card flying around the crowd. And it hit the Gangler, revealing him as just that. The crowd scattered as the Gangler known as Wilson summoned the Porderman and the two teams started fighting.

She fought just as she always did. Fighting the Gangler and the Lupinranger at the same time. But now she was focusing on the real enemy, the Gangler. But as she fought Tooma or Lupin Blue, she could feel that he wasn’t pretending to fight her, he was actually fighting her. She knew that when she had got the chance, she was going to have to have a talk with him about everything.

But as the fight went on, she spotted the perfect moment to help her new nakama. She back kicked a Porderman blocking Patren Ichigou, creating an opening for Lupin Red to try and take the collection piece from Wilson.

“Chance,” Kairi said as he rushed at Wilson to retrieve his piece of the collection.

“Sorry, Keiichiro!” she yelled. But on the inside of her helmet, she was smiling that she had helped her nakama.

At that moment when it looked like everything was going the way of the Lupinranger, there was blue flames and explosions all around the remaining four Lupinranger and Patranger as the two red rangers rushed for the monster. They both looked back to see their friends and nakama being thrown backward by the explosions.

Wilson’s safe then glowed activating his collection piece. Sending a vine from his stomach and wrapped around the Lupin Red and Patren Ichigou. “What?” both reds said as they were picked up off the ground and the monster turned around and walked away.  He opened a portal and walked through.

“Keiichiro!” Tsukasa yelled.

“Red!” Umika yelled.

Tsukasa and Umika exchanged a look. Under their helmets, they were both worried for Kairi. But she was more worried. Keiichiro wasn’t the type to work with the Kairi to get back to them, and she felt that might be the only way that they could.

“What do we do?” Umika asked.

“Retreat for now,” Tooma said, as he pulled out their zip line grappling hook and jumped away.

“Do you think Keiichiro-sempai will be alright?” Sakuya asked her.

She liked Sakuya, and she wanted to tell him that she felt that, as long as he worked with Lupin Red, they would be fine. But she couldn’t reveal her secret. “He’ll be fine somehow,” she said as they undid their henshin and started to drive back to HQ.

But then before they got a few blocks away, there were explosions near where they had just been fighting. Tsukasa stopped just in time to see meteors hitting the top of the building that they were just fighting next to. They rushed to the building. Where they found a wounded and unconscious Noël.

“Noël? Can you hear me?” she asked as she went to his side. He was out cold.

“What was he doing?” Sakuya asked, looking at the fallen Patranger.

Tsukasa looked up at the building. “The explosions before...there had to be a second Gangler,” she said. Looking down at her nakama of both teams. “He must have fought the second one. But he must have used his collection piece to create those meteors. Which sent him crashing all the way down here. Go back to HQ, I’ll go with him to the hospital.” she said to him.

*     *     *

“How is Noël?” Hilltop asked as Tsukasa walked back into HQ.

“The Doctors say he’ll make a full recovery,” she said looking a little weary from what she found out.

“Is he awake?” Herlock asked, with a concerned look on his face.

“Not yet. But the doctors say that he will be out of action for a week or two,” she said to the man. He looked a little relieved.

“That is good to hear,” he said with a smile.

“So do we a way to track Keiichiro down?” she asked. She was more worried about this. At the moment.

“Jim Carter is looking into it,” Sakuya said. Herlock went back to the corner where he had been when she walked into the room.

“No. I can’t find Keiichiro’s signal,” Jim Carter said, turning away from his computer screen that said LOST.

They all turned to his chair in the squad room. Tsukasa was worried for the two of them. While she was now a Lupinranger mole and would help them gather the collection in the end. She didn’t want to see either Keiichiro or Sakuya hurt when they went for their pieces. And if that was put on the table. She was going to fight it to the end.

“How are we going to get him back?” Sakuya asked.

“Simple,” Herlock said, speaking again.

“We lure Wilson out and make him open the portal,” he said.

“How?” Tsukasa asked him.

“Simple I’ll be bait,” Herlock said.

“But that’s dangerous,” Hilltop said.

“Danger? A detective’s life is dangerous,” he said coolly.

“So cool.” Jim Carter said as they started to make plans to lure Wilson out the next day.

*     *     *

“They plan to lure Wilson out I’m sure,” Kogure said, turning off a tablet that had the news report saying that Herlock was going to be taking a tour the following day. To learn more about Japan.

“Fast intel as always, Kogure-san,” Tooma said to him.

“You have to tell me how you figured that out,” Tsukasa said, as walked into the Bistro.

“Tsukasa-san,” Umika said, seeing her.

“I know that if the two of them could work together, then they will make it back here safe. But I have something I have to tell you. Noël was attacked by the second Gangler that separated us from the two of them.” Tsukasa said.

“Is he alright?” Kogure asked.

“Yes. That’s what I have to talk to you about. And what to expect tomorrow when we lure out Wilson. And try and take the two collection piece’s.” Tsukasa said, to them.

“‘Two’?” Tooma asked.

“Yes, two,” Tsukasa said.

*     *     *

The next day the two teams set out to get their reds back. But in the case of Tsukasa, she was trying to get back both of them. As she walked behind Herlock as he was shown the statues of the museum, she saw the card flying right at her. It had to have been flung by Tooma, she thought.

She didn’t have the time the night before to talk to him. She felt like until she did, they might be at odds. She wanted to see their dream come true, as much as he did. But to him, she was the enemy that he was going to have to take down to make that happen still.

She looked at the card and tried to put up her best-shocked face. She showed it to Sakuya. Then she covered his mouth as he tried to say something. They went about their business as they walked through the museum.

At that point, Wilson showed up just like they planed. But then Herlock attacked the guards around him and turned into a Gangler himself. But the Lupinranger and Tsukasa weren’t surprised. And they attacked first. Noël wasn’t in the hospital he had woken up on the way demanding that they stop the ambulance. They did but only reluctantly because he had pulled rank.

He wouldn’t tell Tsukasa why he refused to go to the hospital all he told her before she left him at his apartment. Swearing that he wouldn’t interfere with this fight or face her wrath. Was that the second Gangler was actually Herlock and that he had used his Lupin Collection piece to try and kill him for figuring it out.

They took the fight out of the museum there was more room to fight them.

“How did you know Herlock was a Gangler?” Sakuya asked her.

“Noël he told me when he woke up,” Tsukasa said to him.

Sakuya looked at her. “You are so amazing Tsukasa-sempai,” he said as they started to get ready for the fight with the two Gangler.

That’s when they saw red shots hit the two Gangler who were bickering about how they could have been found out. A portal opened as the two missing reds jumped out forcing Goche Ru Medou ahead of them.

“Are you alright?” Tsukasa asked Keiichiro, but glad to see Kairi too.

“You made it back quicker then we thought,” Tooma said.

“Well, always trust a policeman when you get lost,” Kairi said smugly looking at Keiichiro.

The two teams joined forces for the fight against Herlock and Wilson with gusto. Tsukasa was only too happy fighting alongside her nakama, from both teams. She wished this was how it would always be with the two teams. But she feared that it would never happen. As she watched Umika and Tooma retrieve the collection pieces.

The two teams used both Good Striker and Jackpot Stricker and combined into Patran Ugou and Lupin Tricolor, and they both destroyed the two Gangler monsters.

“My dear treasure. Nurse Wilson and Herlock back to health.” Goche said as she shot both of their destroyed safes with her revive shot.

“Good Striker.” Patran Ichigou said.

“Jack, you can combine too, right?” Lupin Red asked Jackpot Striker.

“Of course,” he said as the two teams summoned their mecha and created PatKaiser and LupinRex.

The two teams fought both Wilson and Herlock. Making quick work of both of them with their combined powers and attacks. The two reds had mutual respect for one another after their time in the Gangler world. But the next time they met, they would be enemies again.

*     *     *

“Were you able to cover that we both knew that he was a Gangler?” Umika asked Tsukasa as the five rangers talked while waiting for Kogure to retrieve the two pieces that they had gotten.

“Yeah, they have no idea I was the leak to you guys. They think it was Noël.” Tsukasa said with a smile.

“I love being a scapegoat for a beautiful lady,” he said with a smile.

“I just wish that the hot-blooded policeman hadn’t thrown Goche’s piece away. We could have gotten four.” Kairi said as Tooma properly bandaged his arm from saving Keiichiro.

“Somehow I feel like I should apologize for him,” Tsukasa said with a sad smile.

“There will be another chance to get it sometime. She does show up every time we beat one, maybe we can work out a plan.” Umika said.

“But she is a Status Gold which makes it difficult,” Noël said.

“We’ll just have to work on a plan on the back burner. Now that there is five of us.” Kairi said.

“But I have no way of opening a safe,” Tsukasa said.

“I can work on that,” Tsukasa said with a smile.

“What is this about you could have had FOUR pieces?” Jackpot Striker asked. He was there playing with Goodie.

“Well with you we would have had four,” Tsukasa said.

“Oh, no. I am not going to be going with Kogure-san. I’m like Goodie, I like to travel. And that’s just what I’m going to do.” he said as he rushed out the door.

“I knew we might have that problem,” Noël said, looking at the door swing closed.

“Yeah, Jackpot Striker was always worse than me when it came to being tied down,” Goodie said, looking at the others.

“So I didn’t cost you another collection piece?” she asked, looking at Tooma, who was already giving her dirty looks.

“It’s fine. I’m sure he’ll be back.” Kairi said with a smile.

“It’s still hard to believe that you’re one of us Tsukasa-san,” Umika said, smiling at her.

“And glad to be here too,” Tsukasa said with a smile looking at the faces of her nakama.

[CaptainNinnin]

Chapter 3

Tsukasa and the other Patranger got word of a serial bank robbery that the Gangler were committing. They were on their way to another bank at this very moment. She hoped that the Lupinranger had gotten there first because she had no way of opening the safe that held the Lupin Collection and she wasn’t sure she could stall the destruction of the Gangler. Ever since Keiichiro had returned he had a renewed desire to stop the Gangler.

It inspired Sakuya to no end. And she did admire the drive and determination that he was showing but she hated the feeling that she was the only one that stood in the way of the Lupin Collection destruction. Noël was still a little banged up. She had to curse Wilson and Herlock for her predicament right now. If they hadn’t have taken the two red rangers Keiichiro wouldn’t be gunning to destroy the Gangler as hard as he was. Noël might be in the car right with them. And he COULD retrieve the collection piece.

As they drove up they heard fighting. Tsukasa smirked as they rushed the bank. She knew that it had to be her nakama. And sure enough there they were already fighting the Porderman.

“The kaitou must have been targeting the Gangler too,” Keiichiro said, as he pulled out his VS Vehicle.

“Keisatsu Change!” they said, and placed there VS Vehicles on their VS Changers.

“Ichigou!” “Nigou!” “Songou!” the changer sounded as they placed them in the gun changer. They held the gun as they shifted them into position and fired it. And in a flash, they were the Patranger. And they started to fight the Gangler and each other.

Sakuya had been paired with Umika. Tsukasa smiled in her helmet knowing that Sakuya had a crush on Umika. All she would have to do is show him a pic of herself and he would fall to pieces, she thought.

The two reds were paired off and she was with Tooma again. And like always he was actually fighting her. She couldn’t hold back. And it wasn’t that he wanted to sell that they were enemies she could tell he was actually trying to fight her. She wanted to find a moment for the two of them to talk but he would keep ducking her when she was at the Bistro.

“I can use this to my advantage,” Magooda Pone said as he fired two beams that hit both Tooma and Tsukasa.

“Huh?” she asked, looking at herself. She was unaffected by the beam.

“What happened?” Tooma asked because he was also unaffected by the beam.

At that point, the two of them started to spark as they were pulled towards each other.

“Whaaaa?” she screamed as they were pulled into a hug.

“Blue,” Umika said as she looked at them in the embrace.

“What is this? What have you done to Tsukasa?” Keiichiro demanded.

“My Mag Mag Force. I can fire beams that can stick everything together. And they will never get unstuck as long as I am alive. Hahaha.” he laughed.

“Then all we have to do is destroy you and she is free,” Sakuya said as the red and green Patranger went after Magooda.

Tsukasa watched in horror that she wasn’t going to be able to help her new nakama stop her team from destroying the monster. Or worse and have her friends fighting each other. Which is what started to happen next. She turned away from this into Lupin Blue’s chest as they hugged.

He didn’t trust her. She was a cop and the cops wanted to stop him from seeing his fiancé again. But he felt her squeeze harder as the two teams fought over destroying the monster and retrieving the Collection piece.

“While you two squabble I’ll take my leave,” Magooda said as his safe glowed and he vanished in a tornado of flower blossoms.

“Where did he go?” Keiichiro asked.

“No idea. But we must take our leave as well.” Kairi said as he pulled out his pocket zip line and fired it.

“No, you don’t,” Tsukasa said as Tooma pulled his out and fired too. She tried to make it look like she was fighting, but she knew this was the best way.

“Wait up for me!” Umika said as she did the same thing.

*     *     *

“One, two, three,” Kairi said in his Lupin Red costume.

He had Tooma and Umika had Tsukasa and they tried to pull them apart. They managed to pull them apart too by about two feet than they turned around and were stuck together back to back.

“It’s no use you two are stuck together good,” Kairi said, looking at the two of them.

Tooma grumpily sighed about that.

“At least it was Tsukasa and not one of the other two. That could have been bad.” Umika said, thinking about having to bring one of them back to the Bistro.

“Thank god for small favors,” Tooma said grumpily.

“You two should go find him get the piece and then destroy him. And we’ll be back to normal.” Tsukasa said to the two of them.

“Bossy as usual,” Kairi said with a smile.

“You do know that when I get out of here I’m going to get you for that right?” Tsukasa asked with a smile.

Kairi eyes went wide. “Let’s go find Magooda,” he said as he left with Umika smirking behind him as they left.

“A police officer giving orders to a thief. What has the world come to?” Tooma asked.

“Your wrong Tooma-kun,” she said looking at the door.

“Huh?” he asked her.

“It wasn’t a police officer that gave them orders. It was a thief. I may not be a Lupinranger, but I am one of you. I will fight to make sure that you see her again.” she said.

“Big words. I felt you during the battle. You didn’t want to see your team get hurt.” he said, remembering how tightly she clung to him.

“You’re right I didn’t want to see my team getting hurt,” she said.

And Tooma smirked because he was right.

“Either of my teams,” she said.

He turned to look at her.

“I’m a Lupinranger and Patranger. I have so many memories with Sakuya and Keiichiro. Going back years. But I want just as many memories with my new team.” she said, turning to Tooma.

They looked at each other. And for the first time, he saw her for who and what she was. She was his nakama. A thief with the same goal. To collect the Lupin Collection. And return what had been taken from them.

“Then let’s lend a hand to our teams shall we?” he said with a smile.

“Yes let’s,” she said smiling herself.

*     *     *

“I can’t let you destroy him yet.” Lupin Red said as he fought Patran Ichigou.

“Kaitou, what have you done with Tsukasa?” Keiichiro demanded as he fought him.

“Now’s my chance,” Magooda said as he tried to activate his Lupin Collection piece and escape again. That’s when two blasts hit him it was Lupin Blue and Patran Songou standing there their guns pointed at Magooda.

“I don’t think so,” Tsukasa said to him.

“We gave you warning already we are going to be taking that piece,” Tooma said looking at him.

“And handling you by force,” Tsukasa said as the two rangers started their attacks on Magooda.

The Patranger stood stunned at how easy she fought with Tooma. But that lasted only a second. Before the Lupinranger came to assist the two of them in their fight against Magooda.

“What are you doing?” Kairi asked the two of them.

“My nakama were fighting to free me,” Tsukasa said as Patran Ichigou and Nigou joined the fight.

“And with all this bickering about destroying him and getting the piece, we were falling into his plan,” Tooma said.

The two of them came up with this story as they made their way to the hideout.

“So we decided that this was special circumstances so we would work together. Just to take this scum down.” Tsukasa said with a smile as the two of them pinned him to the ground.

High above there was a figure smiling. An injured Noël looking on. He had been asked to retrieve Tsukasa from the Lupinranger. But once he knew that they had left her at the Bistro he did the only other thing that he could and gave them the location of Magooda to prove that he was a cop. He had thought it was a bad idea when he saw them fighting each other. But was smiling at this turn of events.

“8. 1. 1.” the safe said with Lupin Yellows VS Vehicle on it as it opened.

“Lupin Collection get.” Lupin Yellow said as she sawed off the little pink blade that was inside.

“Good Striker on the scene,” Good Striker said as he floated in.

Lupin Red grabbed it. “Considering that you can’t combine into Patran Ugou.” Kairi gloated.

“Mind lending a hand police officer?” Tooma asked.

“It would be my genuine pleasure,” she said.

The two of them were smiling in their helmets as the four of them lined up.

“3. 2. 1.” the changer said as Kairi imputed the code in the dial. He was then split into three.

“Itadaki Strike!” they yelled as Lupin Blue, Lupin Yellow, and Patran Songou fired their changers. And the two Lupin Red clones holding blades; sent halo energy discs at Magooda and the main clone with Good Striker in his changer fired. The combined attack made him blow up. And Tsukasa and Tooma were freed from his powers. And the three reds merged back into one as Good Striker freed himself from Kairi’s VS Changer.

At that point, a portal open and Goche walked out of it.

“My dear treasure. Nurse Magooda back to health,” she said and shot him with her reviving shot.

“Thank you. I’ll pay you back for this,” he said to her.

“You’re lucky I did this at all after the taxes being late,” she said, walking back through her portal to the mansion.

“You can handle the rest,” Kairi said stretching as him and the Lupinranger walked away.

“Kaitou!” Tsukasa said as Keiichiro grabbed Good Striker and prepared to fire him to combine.

“The next time we meet we will be enemies. Do you understand that?” she asked looking at Lupin Blue.

“Of course,” he said as the three of them left them to fight the giant Magooda.

*     *     *

“You know when I said that we would be enemies the next time we met I didn’t know how true that was,” Tsukasa said looking at Tooma with a stern look.

“Are you afraid I can beat you?” he asked with a slight smile.

“Not a chance. Full house by the way,” she said, laying down her cards.

“No,” he said, looking at her.

The five Lupinranger were playing a game of poker. And she had clearly won.

“Winner and new champion,” Kairi said with a smile.

“No one has ever beaten Tooma at cards,” Umika said with a smile.

“Oui, with that face it is hard to read,” Noël said with a smile.

“Well, there is a new face here,” Tsukasa said with a smile.

She was having the time of her life, making some of those memories that she wanted to make with her new nakama.

“Yes, there is,” Tooma said with a smirk.

“Does this mean you except her now?” Kairi asked with a smile.

“Maybe,” he said, looking away.

“Good. I have a present for her.” Noël said putting a box on the table.

“What is it?” she asked, looking at him.

“A surprise,” he said, looking at her.

She smiled at him and picked up the box and pulled off the top and was surprised by what she found.

“Is this...” she couldn’t get the words out.

“Oui,” he said with a smile.

“What is it?” Kairi asked.

She pulled out a Lupin Collection piece that looked like a rocket and plane merged.

“The long lost Pink Dial Fighter,” Noël said to her.

“Where did you get that?” Tooma asked him.

“I managed to track down this piece a week ago. When I first realized that Tsukasa was going to join us, I thought I should find or create a Dial Fighter for her. Like with the Scissor and Blade Dial Fighters this was lost a long time ago. And with this you won’t just act the part of a Lupinranger mole.” he said with a smile.

“You don’t mean?” Umika asked with a smile.

“Oui, you actually henshin into a Lupinranger with this too,” he said with a smile.

Tsukasa tried to take this in. “I can become a Lupinranger?” she asked. It felt like the first time she held Trigger Machine Songou as she held Pink Dial Fighter.

“Oui,” he said with a smile knowing the feelings going through her head.

“Welcome to the team...Pink.” Tooma said with a smile.

“Thank you, Blue,” she said with a smile.

[CaptainNinnin]

Chapter 4

“I don’t like that the last few times you have been out there. Colluding with the police as much as you have been.” Kogure said.

“It couldn’t be helped. First, that was all on Goodie, then Wilson and Herlock, Magooda was to blame.” Kairi said to him with Umika nodding her agreement.

“But to think that you are teaming with them more often,” he said.

“What about Tsukasa and Noël? They are on both teams.” Tooma said with Umika nodding again.

“Maybe if he had been a good boy and stayed in Paris none of that would have happened,” Kogure said with a sigh.

“Could you tell us about the collection piece?” Umika asked.

“I was summoned here. By Noël-kun,” he said, sipping his tea.

“Eh?” Umika asked.

“Bonjour!” Noël said as he and Tsukasa walked into the Bistrot Jurer.

“Noël. Tsukasa-kun.” Umika said.

“Let’s get straight to the point. I have a matter that I would like to discuss with you all.” Noël said.

“While we were asked to help with the investigation of an art theft ring we discovered this,” Tsukasa said showing them the picture of one of the pieces that they had found.

Kogure looked at the picture and then opened the book of the Lupin Collection and turned to a page in it. “That is the Lupin Collection piece...‘Tiny Bubbles’,” he said, looking at the text near the picture.

“Why were you asked to help with that investigation? Doesn’t your unit focus on Gangler related crimes?” Tooma asked.

“Herlock-san,” Noël said with a sad smile.

“All over Europe, people are looking into the cases that Herlock investigated. Many of the criminals that he had put away sought out appeals for their convictions. Some have succeeded others have failed. But while investigating that the French HQ found a string of art thefts and auctions of the stolen items.” Tsukasa said, looking at everyone.

“So you want us to go in and swap out the real one?” Kairi asked.

“Non, non. It is an auction after all. All we have to do is be the highest bidder. Isn’t that right? Kogure-san?” Noël asked with a knowing smile.

“Is that what you called me here for? Very well,” he said and pulled out his checkbook and handed it to him.

“Merci,” Noël said, taking it.

“Now I need Tsukasa and Umika to come to the auction with me,” Noël said with a smile looking at the women.

“Us?” Umika said with a look of disbelief.

“A man of wealth always has at least one beautiful mademoiselle on his arm. Having two is even better.” Noël said with a smile as he looked at the two of them.

“But won’t she be needed at the station?” Kairi asked, looking at her.

“I have a couple days off coming up. They are mandatory. I was saving them for just this occasion.” Tsukasa said with a smile as she held the Lupin Pink Dial Fighter.

Once she had gotten it she memorized every detail of it. She knew the activation code by heart. And she had been talking with Goodie in her apartment and she found out something that she wasn’t sure the others knew about this little VS Vehicle. She couldn’t wait to try it out for the first time. And she had been dying to henshin into Lupin Pink.

Umika smiled at her as she held the Dial Fighter.

“And while on the subject of you becoming one of the Lupinranger,” Kogure said with a smile.

“Yes?” she asked fearing that he might take this away from her.

“I welcome you as a member of the Lupinranger so don’t worry. That VS Vehicle is yours,” he said with a smile. Realizing that she had tensed up when he brought that up. She relaxed a bit.

“But I must warn you. Your role as a mole must remain a secret from everyone. If they figure you out then there is nothing that we can do.” he warned. She knew that and the risks that she faced just having a Dial Fighter. But she was going to take them no matter the cost.

“Yes sir,” she said with a smile.

“And Noël, if you hide another collection piece from me again...you will be cleaning the Bistrot’s toilets with your toothbrush,” Kogure said as he stood to leave.

The other Lupinranger tried to not laugh at Noël while Kogure was there. But as soon as the door swung shut they all started to giggle uncontrollably. As Noël gave a weak smile to them all.

* * *

The three Lupinranger walked up to the house where the auction was. Both Tsukasa and Umika looking elegant and beautiful in dresses and jewels. With Noël looking dapper in his tux. They walked in and the attendant tried to hand them masks to wear during the auction. But they shook him off and produced three masks of there own.

Tsukasa was so happy when she left for the auction that the Lupinranger gave her a mask that was just like theirs. It would hide their identities no matter what recognition software you were using. She remembered the first time they tried to run the Lupinranger faces through the very best software that there was and it spat out no matches. It was so vexing at the time. But now it was almost laughable that a simple-looking mask can stump the best computers.

“Study the faces of everyone here ladies. These are our rivals.” Noël said as the three of them studied the room and everyone in it.

“They all look so rich...” Umika said as she sat down on Noël’s left with Tsukasa on his right.

“Don’t worry Umika. If the Lupin families’ pockets or as deep as Noël has lead me to believe we outstrip everyone here by a mile.” Tsukasa said with a smile to Noël.

“Lot number 27. The legendary piece that was stolen from the Louvre one hundred years ago and then disappeared...” the auctioneer said as he pulled the red sheet off the Lupin Collection piece that they were after. “...the melancholic mermaid statue. ‘Tiny Bubbles’. It is now up for auction.” the auctioneer said.

“Stolen from the Louvre?” Umika asked. Even Tsukasa was surprised by this.

“Oui.” Noël smiled.

“Let’s begin the auction at 400 thousand. 400 thousand” the auctioneer asked, as they started the auction.

“Huh? 400 thousand? That’s pretty affordable.” Umika said with a little shock she had thought that it would be higher.

“They aren’t bidding in yen. It’s dollars right?” Tsukasa asked with a smile.

“Oui,” Noël said again.

“Dollars? That means in yen that is...” Umika said, trying to figure out the exchange rate in her head.

“Around 40 million yen. Now more around 50 million.” Tsukasa said with a smile as the bidding went up.

“1 mil-” Noël said.

“Wait. You don’t want to say something that you can’t take back.” Umika said with a nervous look.

“It’s alright. 1 million.” Noël said with a smile.

And with that that the bidding went higher and higher. And Umika was freaking out on the inside. She had never heard of someone spending like this before. Tsukasa was smiling at this. They were thieves. And she was partnered with a penny pincher.

“And the winning bid is 2 million.” the auctioneer said, pointing to Noël.

“2-2-2 million? That’s 200 million yen?!?” Umika said as she looked like she was going to faint.

At that point, the lights went out and there was screaming. “Don’t faint on us now Umika-chan,” Noël said, knowing that there was going to be a fight.

“A Gangler was involved,” Tsukasa said as the lights popped back on and they watched a Gangler steal what they had just bought.

“You ready for this?” Noël asked with a smile as the three of them gave chase.

“I’ve been itching to try this out,” Tsukasa said as the three of them brought out their henshin devices. For the girls, it was there VS Changer and for him the X Changer.

“Kaitou Change!” they all said together.

“Yellow! Pink!” their changers sounded as they placed the Vehicles in place.

“2-4-6!” Tsukasa inputted into the Dial Fighter. “Masqueraise! Lupinranger” they heard as they henshined,

“Stop right there Gangler-san,” Yellow said as they found him.

“I don’t suppose that you will just hand that over will you?” X asked.

“Wait? Since when is there a Lupin Pink?” the monster asked, looking at the newest member of the team as he put the collection piece into the safe in his back.

“I’m new. And I’m really looking forward to fighting some baka squirrel reject.” Pink said cockily. She had decided that she was going to take a new persona as Lupin Pink. Someone cocky as hell.

“Squirrel?” the Gangler named Gristo Lloyd demanded.

The three of them fired their guns but he was fast.

“He’s fast,” Umika said.

“Not just fast,” he said and sent bombs at the thieves. Noël had to cover the both of them with his armor bouncing the blasts off it.

“Stop right there Gangler!” Tsukasa heard Sakyua say.

“By the power vested in us by the Global Police, we’ll deal with you by force!” she heard Keiichiro say as the two remaining Patrangers showed up on the scene.

“Baka.” Pink cursed her team. They were getting in the way of her debut that she had been waiting for this.

“Kaitou and Noël? And is that a new Lupinranger? What is going on?” Sakuya asked.

“Let’s go!” Keiichiro said as the two of them rushed into the fight.

“I’m not getting caught here!” Gristo Lloyd said as he puffed out his cheeks with the safe in his back glowing green. He then released a stream of tiny bubbles. And he disappeared into the storm of bubbles.

“He got away. And it was my first time out too.” Pink said, stumping her feet.

“And it will be your last Kaitou,” Keiichiro said as he rushed the three of them.

“Time to leave,” Noël said as the three of them pulled out their zip lines and quickly left the stunned Keiichiro and Sakuya to the fact that there was a new Lupinranger on the scene.

* * *

“I still can’t believe that they made you pay even though it was taken from us,” Umika complained at the Bistrot.

“And why did they have to show up. I wanted my first time out to be a bit more...” Tsukasa moaned.

“Cool?” Tooma asked with a smile.

“Something like that,” Tsukasa said with a smile.

“Now you know how that feels when you’re on the receiving end of one of your surprise visits,” Kairi said smugly.

“Gomen,” she said with a sorry look on her face.

That’s when Noël placed several sheets of paper down on the table. “I don’t give up that easily. I told you ladies to study our rivals’ faces. Now we are going to draw them.” he said.

“Huh? Why?” Umika asked.

“Because; that Gangler was already in the room when the auction took place. It had to be one of them.” Tsukasa said with a smile.

“Oui. And the three of us together should be able to remember them easily.” Noël said with a smile.

* * *

“Finished!” Umika said as she relaxed after working on those face.

“Well done! Now then, au revoir!” Noël said as he walked out of the Bistrot.

“What do you think he is going to do with those faces you three drew?” Tooma asked.

“My guess he is going to have Jim Carter, our helper robot, run them,” Tsukasa said with a smile.

“Do you think he could find them?” Kairi asked.

“Knowing Jim Carter, yes. It’s just a matter of time,” she said with a smile.

“Then what?” Tooma asked.

“No idea,” Tsukasa said, looking at the door.

* * *

They discovered that he planned to send invitations to all the people that tried to bid for Tiny Bubbles to a fake auction and they could find the real Gangler. And it worked. The art thieves showed up just as planned.

“We can’t have an auction here!” one complained. That’s when Lupin Red and Blue landed on the scene.

“Who are you?” one asked.

“The phantom thieves stirring up a storm!” Lupin red said.

“Sorry, there is no auction today,” Noël said as he Umika and Tsuakas changed into their Lupinranger costumes. Which was a blast for Tsukasa to pick out. “I’ll need you to cooperate,” Noël said as Umika and Tsukasa went to each person and poked and prodded them to find the Gangler in disguise. But they all checked out fine.

“Then we know the culprit,” Noël said and threw a card at the auctioneer whose disguised popped to reveal that he was the Gangler.

“No way! The auctioneer was the Gangler?!” Umika asked, looking at him.

“Did you know all along?” Lupin Red asked.

“Non non! I thought he was a victim that’s why I didn’t draw his face.” Noël said.

“How dare you trick me!” Gristo Lloyd said angrily.

“Come on you tricked us first. It was only fair that we returned the favor.” Tsukasa said with a smile.

“Red! Blue! Yellow! Pink! Kaitou X-nize! Kaitou Change! 0-1-0! Masqueraise! Lupinranger!” their changers sounded.

Kairi snapped his fingers. “Lupin Red!” he said.

Tooma snapped his fingers. “Lupin Blue!” he said.

Umika snapped her fingers. “Lupin Yellow!” she said.

Tsukasa snapped her fingers. “Lupin Pink!” she said.

Noël then prodded his chest plate to make a pinning sound. “Lupin X!” he said.

“Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger!” they said together.

“I already paid the bill. So I’ll be taking that collection piece.” X said as they went to work fighting Gristo Lloyd. The five of them fought perfectly. They were a true team. Any debuts that Tooma had at one time were gone and he was fighting with her like they had been a team forever.

That’s when Red and Blue grabbed his arms and held him while Pink went in for her first safe cracking. “0-2-7!” her changer said as it cracked his safe and she reached in and grabbed the collection piece. And Yellow and X then sent him flying with a pair of kicks.

“Lupin Collection get,” Pink said showing him the piece.

“It looks like I’ve come at a good time.” Good Striker said as Red caught him and inputted his code. “3-2-1!” and he split into three. He then threw the Cyclone Dial Fighter and Scissor and Blade Dial Fighters to Umika and Tsukasa who put them in their Changers.

“And I’ll be using this. Keisatsu Change!” X said.

“Keisatsu X Change! Patran X!” his changer said as he shifted to his other form.

“The finish!” he said.

“Itadaki Strike!” they said as their attacks combined into one massive attack that made him explode.

“My dear treasure. Nurse Gristo Lloyd back to health,” she said as she made him giant.

“Blue-kun. Yellow-chan.” Noël said, handing them two VS Vehicles.

“Wait,” Pink said.

“What?” Tooma asked.

“Well I was talking with Goodie about my Pink Dial Fighter and he told me something interesting about it. Could you two summon Scissor, Blade, and Cyclone for me?” she asked, handing Blue Scissor and Blade.

They looked a little surprised but they did as she asked. And she summoned her Pink Dial Fighter which was massive in comparison to the other Dial Fighters. “Auxillary Gatti,” she said. And the rocket in the middle shot out and the body of the plane twisted and turned into a body as the rocket became the head and Scissor, Blade, and Cyclone became the arms. One holding a shield.

“Auxillary Cyclone Knight,” she said.

“Oh, that brings me back,” Goodie said watching the long lost Pink Dial Fighter fighting the monster.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Kairi asked the little flying thing.

“She asked me to keep it a secret she wanted to surprise you,” he said.

“Oui, it is surprising,” Noël said you could almost see a smile inside his helmet.

They watched as their new Lupinranger fought the Gangler with ease. If she wanted to make up for her lackluster debut she was doing it now. “Auxillary Cyclone Slash!” she yelled as she finished the Gangler.

“The hammer has fallen! Sold!” the Gangler said as he blew up.

“An eternal-Adieu~,” she said to the Gangler.

* * *

“Very good. I’ll be holding on to this collection piece.” Kogure said as he placed it in the book.

“So what happened with the art thieves?” Tooma asked Tsukasa.

“Keiichiro and Sakuya captured and arrested them. And they both informed me that there is a new Lupinranger that is no match for the real pink warrior,” she said with a smile.

“If they only knew that their dream match could never happen,” Kairi said with a smile.

“About that. I think that I should have some type of voice modulator in my helmet when I’m Lupin Pink. They may not be able to figure out that you guys are the Lupinranger but if they hear me speaking the might realize that it’s me.” she said to everyone.

“I’ll work on it,” Noël said, looking at her.

“Um, Noël how much did it cost to reopen the auction?” Umika asked.

“100 million yen,” he said holding up the checkbook.

“1-1-100 million?!” she said nearly falling over.

“Our sense for money is just too different,” she said, looking at him.

“Umika-chan, you’ll make a good wife,” Noël said with a smile.

“This is no joking matter!” she said as she started to chastise both Noël and Kogure for their spending with Tooma, Kairi, and Tsukasa smiling.

[CaptainNinnin]

Chapter 5

“Arigachu,” Kairi said as he closed the box containing the Lupin collection piece from Zonic Lee.

“You should be thanking me,” Tsukasa said, trying not to act too suspicious. She was listening to Sakuya telling how he was praised by Keiichiro. And also not making eye contact with Shinonome Satoru. The first Patren Nigou. She knew that he was in town. But he didn’t want to talk to them and distract them but he did want to meet his replacement so she told him about the Bistrot.

She had just wished he didn’t pick the day that Noël and she had to hand over the Collection piece from before.

“Yes my dear they didn’t even see your masterful pass of the Pink Dial fighter to me in that fight,” he whispered to her.

“I was worried that this case might be the outing of me,” she said with a sigh after she relaxed seeing Satoru leave the Bistrot.

“Yes. Keiichiro was really determined to get this one.” Noël said, sitting down next to her as Sakuya laughed loudly.

“It was the biggest loss we faced when we were first formed. I don’t think that he ever truly get over it,” she said smiling at Sakuya.

“So who was the guy watching Sakuya and Umika?” Tooma asked.

“Observant as ever Tooma-kun,” Noël said with a smile.

“That was our first Patren Nigou. He wanted to see Sakuya but not distract him. We are always here so I told him about this place.” she said.

“Is that weird for him?” Kairi asked.

“Yes and no. He was always laid back. I thought that he could see more then most if he had his music playing.” Tsukasa said with a smile.

“Well, all’s well that ends well,” Noël said with a smile.

*     *     *

Not that long afterward the four of the five Lupinranger were fighting another monster.

“This one’s a bit tough,” Pink said as they fought him.

“Do you want a hand with that Pink?” Yellow said as they started tag-teaming the monster.

“You two make a good combi,” Kairi said as he snuck up behind the Gangler Pyodor as the two of them jointly used her sword and grabber passing it seamlessly between the two.

“Arigachu,” Pink said as she kicked Pyodor who then fired his out his yellow sacks hitting all but Blue.

“I think it’s time for me to take my leave,” he said as he started to run.

“Wait a moment,” Blue said running after him.

“I am going to go home and you will not be following me,” he said, turning to him as his safe glowed green.

Blue just stopped. He didn’t know why but he didn’t want to follow him.

*     *     *

“What was that Tooma-kun?” Tsukasa asked as the four of them walked to the HQ and the Bistrot.

“I don’t know. I just couldn’t follow him,” he said, trying to understand what had happened.

“Well since you let him escape you have to get all the shopping done,” Kairi said with a smile.

“Yeah, I know,” Tooma said as he walked off.

“Will he be alright?” Tsukasa asked, watching him walk to the store alone.

“He’ll be fine. The true reason Kairi sent him alone is that he is kicking himself more than he is letting on.” Umika said with a smile.

“You should have seen him when you three first showed up at the Bistrot,” Kairi said with a smile thinking back.

“What do two mean?” she asked.

“Well, you know that we all have loved ones that we want to bring back. But Tooma has always been a bit impatient.” Umika said, looking at Tsukasa.

“He tried to steal your VS Changers right out from under you that first time that you were here,” Kairi said with a sigh.

“But we would have caught you,” Tsukasa said looking at the two of them.

“That’s right. But I think he thinks the longer it takes to get them back is another moment without her. He loves her so much.” Umika said with a sad smile.

“There was one thing that I was meaning to ask you. Why did he act that way when we saw him out and about with those girls if he loves his fiance that much?” Tsukasa asked them.

The two of them started to giggle.

“What?” she asked.

“That was a Gangler. He had switched their bodies and had a bit of fun.” Kairi said with a smile.

“It was murder getting Tooma-kun through the door,” Umika said with a smile.

Tsukasa smiled at them. “Okay. I have got to get to work. I just saw you three fighting that Gangler and thought I would lend a hand.” Tsukasa said with a smile and walked off.

“Later,” they said.

*     *     *

Tooma saw a man harassing a man about joining his dojo on the way back from shopping. Still lost in thought. “Who are you?” the man asked.

“Just a passing through chef,” Tooma said with a cool demeanor

“Then you should join my dojo.” the guy said.

Tooma felt a little funny like he did when the Gangler had gotten away.

“Okay,” he said to him.

*     *     *

The next thing Tooma knew he was in the dojo.

“Why am I here?” he thought to himself.

Then he looked down at his clothes.

“When did I get changed?” he didn’t understand anything that was going on then the man from before came out to address the class.

“It is going to be challenging,” he said.

“Ossu,” the class recited.

“In this dojo, you will learn the exciting talent and skill of martial arts,” he said.

“Ossu,” they said with Tooma looking at the man.

“But I don’t want to learn martial arts.” he thought to himself.

“And it will be expensive,” he said.

“Ossu,” they said.

“Why is he telling us that?” none of this made sense to him.

“Now I leave this to my assistant instructor,” he said as he turned to the right and Tooma saw something that he never thought he would see. Hikawa Sakuya standing there.

“Tooma-kun,” he said brightly seeing him.

“You decided to join this dojo too,” he said with a smile.

*     *     *

“Did you hear that Sakuya became an assistant instructor at a martial arts dojo.” Jim Carter said to everyone.

This peaked both Tsukasa’s and Noël’s attention.

“When did he start going to a dojo?” Tsukasa asked.

“Good for him he is learning more hand to hand combat and not just relying on his marksmanship,” Keiichiro said.

But this struck both Tsukasa and Noël as odd.

“Sir,” Noël said to Commander Hilltop.

“What is it Noël-kun?” he asked.

“I may need an assistant for a case I am working. Can I borrow Tsukasa-chan?” he asked with a bright smile.

“Might as well do something there is little going on right now anyway,” Tsukasa said, setting down a file.

“If she doesn’t see anything wrong with it I have nothing wrong with it. But if you two get over your head please call for back-up.” Hilltop said.

“Understood.” they both said, and the two of them left the office.

*     *     *

“Oh crap,” Tsukasa said, ducking down behind the counter with Noël not far behind her.

“Why didn’t you warn me that Sakuya was here too?” Tsukasa demanded of Kairi.

“Because we are still trying to figure out why ourselves,” Kairi said.

“SAKUYA-SEMPAI!!” Tooma said loudly.

This shocked Tsukasa even more than the fact the Sakuya was here.

“Ah, that feels so good to hear,” Sakuya said with a smile on his face.

“Sakuya-sempai. When did you join the dojo?” they heard him ask.

Sakuya counted up the days that he was at the dojo.

“About three weeks ago,” he said brightly.

This struck everyone as odd. “And you are already an assistant instructor?” Tooma asked.

“I pick up things fast,” Sakuya said with a smile.

“How thick can you get?” Tsukasa asked herself. She knew that if he was the fastest study in the universe he would have never have been made an assistant instructor in three weeks.

“I have to go Noël has borrowed Tsukasa for a case so I have to be at the station for a little bit before I go back to the dojo and work. And don’t worry about the bill it’s on Sakuya-sempai,” he said, leaving the Bistrot.

“So what’s the case?” Kairi said with a smile.

“Huh?” Tooma asked looking at Kairi.

That’s when Noël and Tsukasa stood up.

“The case of how thick can a police officer get,” she said with a look of frustration.

“You spotted it too?” Tooma asked.

“We all did,” Kairi said looking at him.

“Except Sakuya,” Umika said looking at the door.

“There is no way that he made assistant instructor in three weeks,” Tsukasa said, leaning over the counter.

“And I have been having these fillings when I’m around the master of the dojo,” Tooma said to them.

“Like what?” Noël asked.

“One second I’m thinking that there is something off about the place then he says something and I just find myself doing it,” he said.

“That is strange. Maybe there is more to this master than meets the eye.” Noël said.

“We should go with you to one of these classes and see if there is something up,” Umika said to Tooma.

Tooma got a look on his face. “N-No I can handle this by myself,” he said.

“Well you won’t be alone you have Sakuya,” Tsukasa said with a smile.

“He may not be the brightest bulb in the pack but he is a good guy,” Tsukasa said to him.

“That is if Sakuya-sempai doesn’t get killed by Tooma-kun,” Noël said with a smile.

*     *     *

After a few days of them watching Tooma try and figure out what was going on with Sakuya getting very annoying. Asking him for dating advice and tips on Umika before he finally snapped.

“I intend to quit,” he said to the master of the dojo showing him the letter.

“I see and why is that?” he asked.

“I can not stay here while Sakuya is here too,” he said.

“Ah. But no matter what you can’t quit,” he said to Tooma.

Tooma felt strange again. “I understand,” he said and bowed and left for that days listens with Sakuya.

*     *     *

The four remaining Lupinranger watched over Tooma and Sakuya as they did the routine.

“That’s very aerobics-like martial arts isn’t it?” Noël asked, watching the two doing their routine.

“No that’s just aerobics,” Tsukasa said watching the two.

“I feel like we should look away,” Umika said watching.

“I feel like we should take pictures to make fun of them,” Kairi said with a slight smile.

“Way ahead of you,” Tsukasa said with a giggle as she snapped a few shots of Tooma and Sakuya.

“Sakuya, come here.” the master said calling him over.

Tooma felt that there was something strange about this so he followed the pair to the masters’ personal room. “Could you deliver this bomb… I mean these bombastic Ohagi to the GSP for me?” Tooma heard him tell Sakuya.

“Ohagi! Hilltop will be happy. But why are you giving us these sweets?” Sakuya asked him.

“You at the GSP protect and serve the peace of the world. It is the least I could do,” he said to him.

“It’s super heavy. And I hear something ticking inside.” Sakuya said, listening to the box.

“That’s the Ohagi fermenting,” he said.

Sakuya laughed a little. “Ohagi doesn’t ferment,” he said as he started to open the box.

“Listen to me Sakuya,” the master said, and Tooma saw his stomach glow green.

“You will not open this box until you get to GSP HQ. Understand?” he said.

“Don’t worry master. I won’t be taking any nibbles.” Sakuya said with a smile.

“I’ll be off,” Sakuya said as he left the room with the master dancing like a chicken.

“So he’s the Gangler from before,” Tooma said.

“What are you going to do?” Kairi asked him.

He turned to find Kairi, Noël, Umika, and Tsukasa standing there.

“What are you doing here?” Tooma asked. Then he realized he was wearing his leotard from what was clearly aerobics. And he covered himself up.

“We were getting worried that you hadn’t figured anything out yet,” Tsukasa said suppressing a giggle.

“So we came to check up on you and found you dancing your heart out.” Umika laughed.

“And in those funny clothes,” Kairi said laughing.

“Kill me...Someone, please kill me!” Tooma said with embarrassment.

“More importantly are you going to let Sakuya-kun deliver that package?” Noël asked with a serious look bringing everyone back.

They all knew the answer to what he was going to say. Even as he remembered every little thing the Sakuya had done to him. “Why not?” he said. But everyone was smiling.

*     *     *

Sakuya rushed back to the office with the box unopened. That’s when he saw a card land in front of him. “Huh?” he said and then, a wire wrapped itself around the box and it was yanked from his grip. He looked up to see Lupin Blue standing there with the box in his hands.

“Kaito?” he asked.

“I have stolen your treasure,” he said, holding the box then running off.

“Wait!” Sakuya said as he chased after him trying to get the box back. Without him realizing it Lupin Blue lead him back to the dojo where he had just left.

“Maybe you should see for yourself what’s inside the box?” Lupin Blue said, and with a confused Sakuya, he threw the box at the dojo. And when it landed it exploded destroying the dojo as Lupin Blue left the scene for Sakuya to take it all in.

“A bomb?!” he said, looking at the fire caused by the explosion as his master came running out of the dojo.

“Hey, master!” he yelled as he ran after him. And as he did the disguise that the Gangler was using popped and exposed him to be a Gangler.

“Master is...a Gangler?!” he said, shocked by this fact.

“How dare you burn down my house!” Pyodor said, pointing at Sakuya.

“No, that wasn’t me!” he said.

“Stop right there, Gangler!” Keiichiro said as him and Tsukasa showed up as Ichigou and Songou.

“Sempai? What are you doing here?” he asked, rushing to them.

“During our investigation, Noel and I discovered that he was a Gangler. So I rushed into the station to get Keiichiro. It was a close one if you had delivered that bomb HQ would have been toast.” she said, lying for the most part. It was true that they did an investigation and that they did discover that he was a Gangler. But they thought it would be too suspicious if she used her Lupin powers too often.

“Sakuya, what are waiting for?” Keiichiro asked.

“Yes. Keisatsu Change!” he said as he put his VS Vehicle in the Changer.

“NIGOU! PATRISE! KEISATSU CHANGE! PATRANGER!” it sounded as he henshined.

“Patren Ichigou!” Keiichiro said, holding up one finger.

“Patren Nigou!” Sakuya said, holding up two fingers.

“Patren Songou!” Tsukasa said, holding up three fingers.

“Keisatsu Sentai Patranger!” they said together.

“By the power vested in us by the Global Police, we will deal with you by force!” Keiichiro said. And they went into the fight with Pyodor. But they were having just as much trouble as the Lupinranger was having the first time that they had a run-in with him.

“Alright about face!” Pyodor said, and as he commanded they turned around. And he slashed them while they were facing the other way.

“So he manipulated me in that same way?” Sakuya asked, looking at him as he started to stump them.

Just as it looked like he was about to end Patren Ichigou something was thrown at Pyodor. It was Patren X’s weapon and it was now lodged in his beak so that he couldn’t talk.

“Now you can’t talk.” Lupin Blue said coming on the scene.

“1. 4. 5.” the safe said as he cracked it and pulled out the Lupin collection before sidestepping the rest of the Lupinranger shooting him.

“I’ll never forgive you.” Lupin Blue said. This caused Tsukasa to smile in her helmet.

“Kaito Change!” they said.

The collection of the Lupinranger quickly henshined.

“Lupin Red!” Kairi said.

“Lupin Blue!” Tooma said, but this time he was full of rage.

“Lupin Yellow!” Umika said.

“Lupin X!” Noël said.

“Kaito Sentai Lupinranger!” they said together. The Lupinranger made quick work of Pyodor destroying him with ease. All the while Tsukasa was wishing she could be with both of her teams out in the open like Noël. But she knew that that day was nowhere near now. But had a sense of pride that the Lupinranger finished the monster with ease.

“My dear treasure. Nurse Pyodor back to health,” she said and fired him with the shot to revive him.

“Well then, shall we?” Noël said, bringing out Goodie.

“It’s my long-awaited time to shine!” he said.

Tooma saw the Patranger gather together. “Go with them. It’s his turn to get even,” he said.

“I see,” Noel said.

“Okay,” Goodie said, flying into Sakuya’s hand.

“Damn Kaito! What are you trying to pull?” Keiichiro asked.

“This isn’t the time for that!” Tsukasa said to him.

“I know,” he said, taking Goodie and forming PatKaiser.

“Sakuya! Show us the results of your martial arts training!” Keiichiro said to him.

Tsukasa had to bit down on her lip to not laugh because she knew what she was about to see.

“Okay I will,” he said and preceded to do aerobics in the cockpit. While PatKaiser followed along with Goodie whopping in the background.

“That is definitely not martial arts,” Tsukasa said trying to do her best I don’t have pics on my phone of him in a leotard act.

“Sakuya, just what were you learning?!” Keiichiro asked. And Pyodor then came in and tripped PatKaiser with ease.

“X Gatti!” Noël said, joining the fight.

“X Emperor Slash!” his mecha said as he formed it.

“Leave this to me,” he said and went to work fighting Pyodor.

“No way...Was that expensive monthly fee...just a waste?! Master!!” Sakuya screamed.

Tsukasa couldn’t believe that he still hadn’t got it but she did like what happened next.

“Crane and Bike!” Sakuya demanded of a shocked Keiichiro.

“Okay, got it,” he said, being the level headed on for once in the cockpit.

Sakuya quickly summoned both of them. “I’ll never forgive you!” Sakuya said taking Keiichiro’s seat with both Tsukasa and Keiichiro just along for the ride as he destroyed Pyodor with near ease.

“Mission complete.” Keiichiro and Tsukasa said with Sakuya crying.

“Don’t worry about it! I think I lost some weight today!” Goodie said, trying to console him and both Keiichiro and Tsukasa joined in.

“You guys are a good combi,” Kairi said to Tooma with a smile.

“You were completely in sync!” Umika said.

And the two of them started to make fun of the aerobics that they had done.

“You guys...forget everything that happened!” he growled. At that moment his phone went off he looked at it and it was a message from Tsukasa and it was a picture of him in the leotard. “Not her too! Please! Please forget it!” he pleaded.

[CaptainNinnin]

Chapter 6

A man walked up to the Bistro Jurer wearing sunglasses and looking very stern. He didn’t like that he had to come here today but he wasn’t going to let this stand anymore. “Bistro Jurer...” he said looking at the Bistro where the Lupinranger worked and lived. “So this is the place...” he said grimly.

Inside none of the Lupinranger knew what was outside. Umika opened the door to the fridge looking forward to eating pudding. But they were empty. When she realized that they were empty she was shocked and angry. And she knew who to blame. “Kairi! Did you eat my pudding?!” she demanded of her Nakama.

He made a face as he turned away from her and she knew he had done it beyond a shadow of a doubt. “Oh come on! I was looking forward to eating it today!” she moaned.

“Ah, sorry!” Kairi said clapping his hands together. “I’ll buy you three of them!” he said holding up three fingers.

“Eh? Really?” Umika asked showing a hopeful smile. She could be taken in so easily and he knew it. He smiled and tweaked her nose as the tingling of the door sounded letting them know someone was there to be waited on.

“You’re too trusting,” he said with a little laugh. This was normal for the regulars to see Kairi goofing around teasing Umika at times. All while Tooma was in the kitchen waiting to cook for their customers.

“Stop it!” she started to complain pushing his hand off her nose as someone walked into the Bistro. And he didn’t like what he saw. Umika turned to see him standing in the entranceway. It took her a minute to realize who it was and she gasped as his face turned red as a beat.

“You playboy! Don’t casually touch Umika like that!” he roared and rushed right at Kairi and tried to punch him. But Kairi just side-stepped him and he went flying right into a table upturning it. Kairi looked at him confused a little. Some of the customers had taken a liking to Umika but this man had never been in this Bistro. And even if he had they would know that there was nothing between the two of them.

“Who’s that?” he asked casually as he put his hands into his pockets and looked at the man on the floor in a heap with the table and chairs knocked over.

“Papa?! What on Earth are you doing?!” Umika yelled to her father that had come to the Bistro today to see his daughter and maybe take her home with him.

Kairi looked at the man and nodded then he turned to Umika shocked. “Eh? Papa?!” he asked her. And looking at the man in a new light.

“How dare you try and seduce my daughter!” Umika’s father demanded of Kairi. His sunglasses hanging from his nose. He stood up and threw them to the ground as he stood. “That’s why I was so against you being a live-in employee!” he said to his daughter. And started toward Kairi.

“Nothing’s going on!” Kairi said to her father trying to get out of trouble with him. He had been in trouble with the fathers of other female friends before and knew how to distract him. “He lives here too anyway!” Kairi said pointing at Tooma.

“What?!” he asked looking at Tooma as Umika tried to get him to calm down. “Did you seduce my Umika too?!” he demanded of Tooma who look unshaken as he faced Umika’s father.

“I have a fiancé,” Tooma said stone-faced.

“So that means...It must have been you!” he said turning to face Kairi...but he wasn’t there. Kairi’s apron fell to the floor as the door swung shut behind him as he fled. “Stop! This conversation isn’t over!” he yelled as he went after Kairi.

“Wai-PAPA! Listen to me!” Umika said struggling with her apron.

“Bonjour,” Kogure said walking in his normal way. They turned to face him.

“Kogure-san,” Tooma said as the two of them looked at him.

Kogure looked at the mess caused by Umika’s father when he failed to punch Kairi. “What is all the commotion?” he asked looking at the upturned table and chairs.

* * *

“No good. Papa’s not picking up his phone.” Umika said hanging up her cellphone. Kogure was still there with their new target. But she was torn between wanting to gather the Collection piece and finding her father. She didn’t understand why he had to come here. She thought that she knew why he picked today of all days to come to find her here. But she wished that he would have listened to her more.

“Kairi’s not picking up either,” Tooma said hanging up. He didn’t like this...but he understood a father’s love.

“Come on, why now?” Umika asked leaning on a table. She turned to face the door. “Papa you baka!” she yelled. As Kogure set the photo of the Collection piece and target.

“This is a dilemma,” Kogure said looking at the targets.

* * *

Kairi was still running. He couldn’t believe that Umika’s Papa was able to keep up with him this long. “Who knew Umika was a Daddy’s girl?” Kairi groaned as he ran...until he heard screams. That’s when he saw a lot of school children running from a Gangler. “A Gangler!” Kairi said stopping to watch the monster as it terrorized these teens and preteens. Some fell as they ran.

“Now, now! Grow old, grow old!” Ryugu Tamatebakko said to one of the teen girls that had fallen over as she tried to run. He then shot out a puff of smoke as the Porderman surrounded her. As the smoke dissipated the young girl was an old woman.

“Excellent, excellent!” he said as the now old woman tried to hobble away as fast as she could.

“She aged in an instant!” Kairi said seeing this.

“FOUND YOU, YOU PLAYBOY!” Umika’s father yelled seeing Kairi. Kairi looked behind him and saw him and then saw the Gangler.

“He’s next! Go!” he said commanding the Poderman to get him.

“I guess I gotta...” Kairi said turning to face Umika’s father and started rushing him. “We gotta run, Papa-san!” Kairi said grabbing hold of him and making sure that he didn’t get too near the Gangler. If it aged a teen into an old woman he would age Umika’s father possibly to the point of death. He was shocked by Kairi’s sudden about-face. But then he saw the Gangler and he was shocked for another reason. And the two started to run.

“Don’t let them get away!” he yelled and the Gangler and the Porderman started to chase them. “Don’t think you can run from old age!” Ryugu Tamatebakko said. And then Porderman started to attack the two of them but they didn’t know that Kairi was a Lupinranger. He ducked under the first and kicked the second and before they could really get going he grabbed the trash can and threw the contents at them. Then the trash can itself.

“What are you doing?! Stop them!” Ryugu Tamatebakko yelled at the Porderman as they struggled to get to their feet again after the trash can hit them. As Kairi and Umika’s father rushed out of there. With Kairi pushing her father along from behind making sure he wasn’t left behind. “Let’s go!” he commanded as the Porderman got to their feet.

A few moments later Ryugu Tamatebakko and the Porderman got to the section of the park that they had seen Kairi and Umika’s father head toward while they struggled to get to their feet. “Where are they?!” he asked looking around and not seeing them running in fear.

“You’re pretty good.” Umika’s father said to Kairi in a whisper as they hid behind a statue in the park.

“Huh? Yeah...” Kairi said realizing what he was talking about. He was getting used to fighting the Gangler now that he had forgotten what it was like to be amazed by the antics of Sentai heroes that had come before them. He would get a kick on a personal level seeing how the Collection pieces seemed to resemble things from Sentai of the past. But right now he had more things to worry about. “I got dragged into fights a lot.” he lied.

“What?! Not just a playboy, you’re a hoodlum as well!” Umika’s father yelled but then Kairi covered his mouth and hoped that they weren’t alerted to their location.

“Why do you bungle everything?!”Kairi asked in a whisper thinking about how Umika was the same way. Then he heard something that both made this easier and harder at the same time.

“Don’t move, Gangler!” he heard Keiichiro’s voice. “Global Police!” Keiichiro said as the four Patranger arrived on the scene.

“Keisatsu Change!” they said. Keiichiro, Tsukasa, and Sakuya placed their VS Vehicles on their VS Changers. And Noël rotated his X Changer to the Keisatsu position. “Ichigou!” “Nigou!” “Songou!” “Keisatsu X-Nize!” the changers sounded. The three of them held their guns as they shifted them into position and all four of them fired them into the air. And in a flash, they were the Patranger.

“Keisatsu Sentai Patranger!” the four of them said saluting and posing.

“By the power vested in us by the Global Police, we will deal with you by force!” Keiichiro said to the Gangler. And the four of them rushed into battle with the Ryugu Tamatebakko and the Porderman.

“I, Ryugu Tamatebakko, tangling with the police!” he said pushing Sakuya. And seeing Noël fighting some Porderman. He fired his smoke at him to make him an old man. But he saw the smoke coming and flopped onto his back and did a kip-up back to his feet with the smoke hitting the Porderman behind him. He had grown a long beard after the smoke had cleared and was an old Porderman now...with a bad back. You heard it clearly creek as he raised its sword. And he fell over.

“This is...” Noël said seeing it and knowing what this Gangler’s powers were. And grew afraid for his Nakama growing old in a heartbeat.

“This is bad! We can’t block smoke!” Tsukasa said. She was glad that her other Nakama wasn’t here right now too. Tooma would rush in to get the Collection piece to get his fiancé. Umika might accidentally get hit. And she had seen with her own eyes Kairi rushing headlong into danger blindly. She didn’t want to see any of them age themselves in the middle of a fight that she knew they would never give up and get hurt. So she was determined to end this right now before they got involved.

But before she could do anything Noël rushed in and started fighting with him. “You guys aren’t a good match for him. Leave this to me!” he said taking the lead. She found this odd. After being part of both teams for a little while she was finding out that there wasn’t much difference between either team. Both could handle this monster and it wasn’t a Status Gold. And even if it was she could slip him her Dial Fighter in a flash.

What does he mean by that? she asked herself internally. As she watched him practically drag the monster away from them. But the thought of how strange that was was pushed out of her head because they still had the Porderman to deal with. But then as the fight was getting going between the two of them. Then the safe glowed green and Ryugu Tamatebakko dove headfirst into the ground...and it behaved like he was diving into water. And he disappeared under the surface of the ground and swam around.

Noël fired his weapon at the Gangler but it hit the ground. It popped up and back down and Noël fired at him as fast as they could but each time the shots just hit the ground and not the Gangler. “So he has a diving Collection piece?” he said to himself. Thinking it was time to finish his new little creation.

That was if he made it through this fight as Ryugu Tamatebakko went on the attack. Causing sparks to fly from Noël as he attacked him. Noël then ducked an attack he sensed coming and fired back but the same results. Hitting the ground and not the Gangler. He then attacked him head-on and sent Noël flying backward.

“Noël!” Keiichiro said seeing this. The rest of the Patranger finished the Porderman with ease after that. None of them wanted to lose a Nakama. Noël was fine and on his knees by the time the other Patranger came to his side.

“Whoop!” Ryugu Tamatebakko said as he popped up and down around them toying with them. As all four of them tried to shoot him. But failing and getting nowhere.

“Where is he?” Keiichiro asked as they all failed to shoot him. Almost teasing them he would pop up and let them see him then dive back down.

“Goodbye! Goodbye!!” he said and swam off as they all tried and failed to shoot him. And he got away. They all undid their henshins disappointed in themselves for not being able to get the Gangler. Tsukasa was now worried for her other Nakama. She was going to make sure that they knew what to expect. But she was also going to make sure that they weren’t going to take too many risks this time. One wrong move and they could all get blown away.

Noël looked at his blaster that was his X Changer. He was now more sure he had to finish what he was making to fight this Gangler. And Tsukasa noticed this. “I can’t attack an underground enemy with this...” he said looking at it patting it lightly. He tried to get away from the group. But Tsukasa stopped him.

“Where are you going?” she asked him.

“To make a little present for our Nakama,” he said with a whisper and a smirk as Tsukasa saw Umika’s father approach Sakyua and Keiichiro. She was shocked to see him but she knew that they hadn’t realized who it was...and she had more pressing thoughts on her mind.

“Need a hand?” she asked with a smirk. She wanted to find out more about one particular Nakama. Things weren’t adding up in her mind right now. And she was going to make sure she got to the bottom of this.

“I’ll never turn down the help of a beautiful mademoiselle,” he said with a smirk as the two of them snuck off. She knew that her disappearance was going to be missed when Umika’s father was gone they would notice her missing. So she called Jim Carter to let him know that she was going to help Noël investigate this Gangler. While other ideas about her future started to form. All to unravel the mystery that was Takao Noël.

* * *

“Papa was attacked by a Gangler?!” Umika said to Kairi over the phone. She and Tooma couldn’t wait for him and had to move fast to the Gangler hideout. But when Kairi got back to the Bistro he knew he had to tell them what to expect.

“He’s safe for now, so relax. Tsukasa send you the same message after the fight with the Gangler?” Kairi asked thinking about the text.

Gangler can turn you old with a puff of smoke and can dive into the ground if you let him. And is impossible to hit for now. Working on a fix with Noël. AND NONE OF YOU BETTER DO SOMETHING RASH IF YOU ARE TURNED OLD! it had read.

“Yeah. She knows us too well,” Tooma said with a smirk.

“Yeah,” Kairi said with a matching smirk knowing that they all probably would still go all out if they were turned old. They wanted their loved ones back and nothing was going to stop them.

“At least we found out his tricks before he came back. That’ll help.” Tooma said seriously.

“We can’t have Papa sniffing around Jurer,” Umika said thinking about what he could uncover if left alone. “Make sure you watch him!” she said.

“Right,” he said as he was resigned to looking after the old man as his Nakama hopefully got the Collection piece and ended the Gangler.

* * *

“ THE GANGLER SOMEHOW TOOK TSUKASA! ” Keiichiro yelled rushing into the control room.

“She’s fine. Noël is investigating the Gangler on his own and she offered her assistance. She didn’t have time to tell you before they left.” Jim Carter said reassuringly.

“Thank goodness,” Sakuya said with a smile.

“It’s not all good news I’m afraid. Tsukasa told me about the Gangler’s power and...people all over are quickly aging just as she warned,” Jim Carter said going through the pretty long list of the people attacked. Keiichiro clenched his fist.

“Damn Gangler!” he said.

* * *

Kairi tried to make Umika’s father a cup of coffee. But the truth was that he had never made one before. He had spent most of his time slaking off while supposedly working here. So he was fumbling through the steps that he had seen the other two perform. Umika’s father watched in amazement that this young man could have been hired to work at the Bistro. But Kairi worked with his normal confidence.

“Umika said she was out doing the shopping,” Kairi said as he poured him a cup of coffee. “You can stay here until she gets back,” he said and set the cup in front of him with a standard smirk.

“Sorry about trying to punch you earlier,” he said. He was amazed that Kairi did his best to make sure that he was safe while the Gangler attacked and that he stayed behind as he told the Patranger what they had seen before they had arrived. And it kind of won him over.

“Well, I’m the type of guy who my female friends’ fathers hate,” Kairi said. Then Umika’s father bombarded him with questions about Umika. It was why he came here after all and with her gone maybe, just maybe, he would find out if his little girl was alright.

“So you’re really worried about her?” Kairi said not sure what to tell him. He may joke about how trusting and bungling she was. But he had grown to depend on her during their struggles.

“Yeah...” her father said standing back and thinking about it. “Do you know why she left home?” he asked.

Of course he knew, it was the same reason why he was here right now too. But he wasn’t going to tell him that. “Yeah...I got the gist of it,” he said thinking about it.

“I see...” he said seeing that she had told him everything just by the look on his face. “I was against it, but her mama said it was ok,” he said reliving the night that she had told him about her plan in his head. He could still hear her voice and the look on her face. “That’s why she calls her mama but never me,” he said to Kairi.

“So you couldn’t take it anymore and came to see her,” Kairi said with a chuckle. This surprised her father.

“Because it’s Umika’s birthday today,” he said to him.

“She didn’t tell us. We found out though. We had a surprise party set for later,” Kairi said with a smile. Tsukasa had planned it out as another of her ways to bond with both teams. Which Noël was all for.

“I didn’t know that...” he said thinking that he interrupted a special moment for his little girl.

“It’s okay,” Kairi said to her father with a smile. “She’s doing well for herself. She has friends that love her and want to see her happy,” he said. He looked at Kairi as he spoke.

“There’s something that she wants more than anything. And there are bad things and hard times. But she’s doing her best.” he said to him smiling thinking about everything they have been through so far and will go through in the future. “She’s a strong one,” he said to him. He relaxed hearing this about his daughter. It relieved his worries to hear his words. He then took a sip of the coffee Kairi had made for him.

“Disgusting!” he said spitting out the coffee.

“No way!”

“Pardon me for interrupting,” Kogure said walking into the Bistro. “Allow me to introduce myself,” he said to her father walking up next to him. “I am Kogure, the owner of this restaurant,” he said.

“Oh, hello! I’m Umika’s father,” he said bowing to him.

“I will attend to her father,” he said to Kairi.

“Okay,” Kairi said and took off to the hideout to help them to get the Collection piece,

“Bonjour!” Noël said seeing Kairi leave the Bistro. He and Tsukasa were waiting outside as to not alert Umika’s father that they all knew each other.

“You two?” Kairi asked seeing them.

“It’s finished,” Tsukasa said smirking at her Nakama.

“What’s finished?” Kairi asked them.

“Any more will spoil the surprise. Shall we?” Noël said with a smile. Holding up a new VS Vehicle.

* * *

“Well now! I’m back at my castle!” Ryugu Tamatebakko said as he walked into the hideout. “Just let me rest myself for a while!” he said wanting to lounge around the abandoned building.

“No,” Tooma said as he walked up behind him. “There’s no time to rest,” he said flipping his VS Changer.

“Who are you?!” Ryugu Tamatebakko asked.

“The phantom thieves stirring up a storm~,” Umika said walking up next to him. She went up to stand next to Tooma and the pair held up their Vs Vehicles.

“ Kaito Change! ” they said together. Their changers rang out with the sounds of them changing in the Lupinranger.

“Lupin Blue!” Tooma said snapping his fingers after the process was over.

“Lupin Yellow!” Umika said doing the same.

“Kaito Sentai Lupinranger!” they said together.

“Here’s an advance notice. We’re taking...” Tooma said.

“...your treasure!” they said together.

“You’ve done well to find my castle. Now prepare yourselves!” he said firing puff of smoke after puff of smoke at the two of them. They ducked and dodged each of them. They then fired their VS Changers at him and that stopped the puffs of smoke.

“We might’ve been in trouble without Pink’s intel,” Tooma said.

“I don’t wanna become a granny on my 19th birthday!” Umika said and fired her changer at him trying to keep him off balance. The two of them started to fight hand to hand keeping him off balance even more. Making sure that he couldn’t fire those aging puffs of smoke and maybe getting him off balance enough to get the piece.

“Not bad! In that case...!” he said trying to break free of this fight and then his safe glowed green. Tooma knew this was about to dive into the ground. He brought up a deck of the cards that they used for alerting people to their intentions and flung them onto the ground right in front of the Gangler. And he went diving into the ground trying to do just as he had done earlier with the Patranger...but he couldn’t.

“Huh? Why?!” he yelled unable to dive into the ground.

“So he can’t dive down if there’s something blocking him,” Tooma said.

“Yup!” Umika said brightly. They had been talking about that being a possibility while waiting for him too.

“And you know about my treasure’s powers too?!” he said looking at the two of them. Umika pulled out her Dial Fighter to get the Collection piece. “Stop! Stay away!” he said inching backward until he was up against a wall literally. He felt the wall as she walked closer to him.

“Now’s our chance!” she yelled and ran at him. He yelled as she ran at him.

“However...!” he said and the safe glowed green and he sank into the wall and Umika bounced into it.

“No way!” she said looking at the wall he had just sunken into.

“Not knowing the whole picture will get you killed!” he said popping out of the wall. He then attacked Umika and sent sparks from her. She fell over and Tooma came in and fired at where he had been. But like before the shots hit the wall and not him. There was no way to hit him with their weapons. And he lost track of him as he swam through the walls.

“Where is he?” he asked and then he fired an attack at him and it sent sparks from him too. And he fell over and Umika fired at him trying to get him before he had the chance to disappear. But with the same result. He then fired more at the pair of them and they went flying backward and were on the ground at his mercy. He popped out and walked slowly toward them. Enjoying the feeling before he finished this.

“Now die!!” he said as he was prepared to send another attack at them. But just as he was about to hit them he was shot by Lupin Red and Lupin Pink.

“That was close! We made it in time!” Lupin Red said as Patran X came to stand next to the two of them.

“Why didn’t you say he could dive into more than just the ground?!” Umika asked Tsukasa.

“Gomen,” Tsukasa said to her.

“It’ll turn out the same no matter how many of you there are!” he said standing back up after being shot by the two of them. His safe glowed green again and he dived into the walls again. The five rangers were on edge holding their guns high trying to figure out where he was going to attack from. And without warning, he attacked them again. They tried to duck and dodge more attacks and fire at him but hit the walls and not him.

“Yellow!” Kairi said tossing her the Scissor and Blade Dial fighter. She summoned it right away. And started to block some of his attacks as they tried to find an opening.

“Red?! What are you waiting for? Show us the powers of the new VS Vehicle!” Tsukasa yelled getting a little annoyed with her Nakama for not using it sooner as they ducked and dodged attacks.

“Bossy as ever,” Kairi said and pulled out the new VS Vehicle that they had given him back at the Bistro. It looked like a blimp as he held it in his hands. He placed it into the VS Changer.

“Magic!” it rang. “0 2 9!” it said as Kairi imputed the code of the Magic Dial Fighter. “Masqueraise!” it said as he flipped it into position. “Kaito Boost!” it said as he fired it and summoned a new power-up that they had never seen before.

It looked like the blimp itself had encased his hand and turned into some kind of bow. “A bow?” Umika asked seeing it.

“It’s no use! That can’t hit me!” he said popping out of the wall.

“Don’t be so so sure little Fishy-san,” Tsukasa teased the monster. As Kairi pulled back on an energy string. An energy arrow appeared as he had drawn it. As he held it in place the Gangler laughed.

“That’s not going to work!” he said with a laugh as he dived back into the wall. And with that Kairi released the arrow at him. The arrow didn’t just stop at the wall like their blasts. It went traveling through the concrete and slowly found its mark which surprised Ryugu Tamatebakko as he was hit with the arrow and was sent flying out of the wall and into the next wall. Stunning him.

“How did that work?!” he asked not sure how an arrow could have hit him. Lupin Red then came in and found him and fired another arrow at him. He quickly dived into the wall he was sent into. Kairi then went to where he was and fired the arrow again and again. And slowly he started to overwhelm the Ryugu Tamatebakko and sent him flying all the way out of the abandoned building.

Tsukasa went in to get the Lupin Collection piece...but Noël cut her off. “Kaito Change!” he said shifting into Lupin X. And opened the safe with his safecracker belt buckle. Which didn’t make sense to her she was literally within feet of where he had landed. And they had all spaced out to be prepared for the landing knowing that Kairi was going to send him flying out of the building. But he cut her off like he didn’t want her to get close to the monster.

“No!!” he said as Noël showed him the Collection piece now in his hands.

“Got your Collection piece,” he said brightly.

“Hide and seek is over!” Tooma said as he went in to fight the Gangler. Tsukasa join in so all three of them kicked him back. Tooma put the Cyclone Dial Fighter into his VS Changer. And Tsukasa put Biker Trigger Machine glad that the other Patranger weren’t there to question how LUPIN PINK had one of their power-up/auxiliary Trigger Machine. And the five of them sent boosted finishing moves at the Gangler making him blow up. And each of them felt a sense of satisfaction for how annoying this one was to beat.

All over the city people were being returned to their youthful selves with the Gangler’s defeat. Then a portal opened and Goche walked through. “My dear treasure. Nurse Ryugu Tamatebakko back to health.” Goche said as she shot his destroyed safe with her revive shot. But somehow she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. And walked back through another portal.

“I’ll turn this whole city into my castle!” Ryugu Tamatebakko said as he was now a giant. That’s when Tsukasa heard her other team approaching the building. With all the fighting someone must have called the cops about it she figured. As they appeared she knew she had to get out of there for her next plan to start.

“See you back at the hideout!” Tsukasa said to the team and string shot out of there. Kairi thought that was weird but then he saw the Patranger and smirked inside his helmet.

“Leave them to me,” Noël said.

“It’s my long-awaited time to shine!” Goodie said as he floated into the scene. “Hey, Magic-chan! When did you get a dial?” he asked the Collection piece.

“You handle those guys then,” Kairi said to Noël as the three of them went into battle. With the giant Gangler.

“ NOëL!!!! ” everyone heard. It was Tsukasa she was running onto the scene. She then did something that Noël didn’t expect. She slapped him. “ HOW DARE YOU SEND ME ON A WILD GOOSE CHASE JUST SO YOU CAN DITCH ME TO TEAM WITH THE LUPINRANGER! ” she fumed.

Keiichiro and Sakuya held her back while she “calmed down”. She was lying of course. She wasn’t mad at him at all she was playing it up for the next part of her plan to learn more about him. He took this in stride as he watched her calm down.

“I’m sorry Tsukasa-chan,” he said to her. “But you guys weren’t a good match for him. That’s all,” he said to them and turned to face the fight. As they formed LupinKaiser. The fight went great from the ground as they summoned Magic Dial Fighter to form LupinKaiser Magic.

“Was that the Collection piece I thought you were hiding from me today?” Tsukasa huffed out trying to contain fake rage for Noël. He turned to face her. Trying to figure out what she was doing. Playing it up and slapping him was one thing but to highlight that he had a secret Collection piece that he had kept from her?

“It was not a match for your style,” he smirked looking into her eyes. As they watched the fight. And the Lupinranger were able to show them what he was talking about with Sakuya losing his mind for what he was seeing. With a flashy magic trick where they summoned a giant dresser drawer and hidden inside the bottom drawer, was the Red Dial fighter that had to be swapped out for them to use Magic Dial Fighter...but it was really Magic Dial Fighter. And they were able to defeat shortly after that. With their standard flare and appeal that had won over the people of Japan.

* * *

Tsukasa walked up to the Bistro a while later. And saw Umika opening the door as she was going off to find her father who had left before they had gotten back. “ UMIKA! ” she yelled. She turned to face her still smiling at the thought of spending time with her family today. “Happy Birthday!” she said with a smile. “Now go spend time with your father you silly girl,” she said brightly.

“Hm!” Umika said with a smile and ran off after him.

Tsukasa walked into the Bistro as Tooma started to demand what Kairi had done with the coffee earlier. “Tsukasa-chan, I thought you would be still fighting with Noël and not come here,” Kogure said looking at her.

“Huh?” both of them asked looking at her.

“How do you know these things? Anyway, I hope tomorrow, for her surprise party, he has forgiven me,” she said with a smile.

“Knowing Noël, he will. I’ll leave you to explain the new status you have achieved in the GSPD,” he said and left. Leaving her in a state of shock that he could have known about THAT too.

“What does that mean?” Kairi asked.

“I had been thinking about something for a little while now. It was getting weird finding excuses to join you as Lupin Pink when I was meant to be working with the GSPD. Noël gets away with it by being part of the French HQ investigating you guys...and that is where my idea came from. A way to be a part of both teams at a drop of a hat...like Noël. But...” she said and took a deep breath sure that she should tell them another reason why she was doing this.

“Have you noticed that Noël doesn’t use any VS Vehicle?” she asked them. They thought about it. And she was right he hadn’t. “And in this fight, he would use the phrase we weren’t a good match talking about the Patranger. And that got me wondering what that meant. It’s why I wanted to go with him while he worked on Magic Dial Fighter. And where did he learn those skills?” she asked them. And they had no answers for her.

“So I trust him to help you guys with your goal to be fair...but I want to understand the truth about everything that is happening,” she said. Kairi smirked walking toward her.

“The bossy keisatsu at her best...” he said and then saw the look in her eyes and shut up.

“So what does this have to do with your status with the GSPD?” Tooma asked.

“I’m transferring to the French HQ...well in spirit,” she said.

“Huh?” both of them asked.

“Officially I am now Noël’s partner. Using this fight to say that Noël needs to be investigated. Which I am going to do...but not for what my bosses think I am doing it for.” she said.

“Then he knows you are looking into him?” Tooma asked thinking about what Kogure said about them fighting.

“No,” she chuckled. “He was upset I didn’t give him the heads up about my plan. And that I brought suspicion to him in the GSPD,” she said looking at them.

“Well, things are about to get interesting around here,” Kairi said with a smirk.