Kuro waited. The tracker for Hikage's had finally stopped moving. It was safe to assume that the kidnappers had arrived at their hideout. Kuro pondered to himself. What exactly did they want? If it was money, it was pretty stupid to kidnap both Mr. Rane and Hikage. After all how do they expect to get the money?

"There. Bell Street, address 423 apartment A," Kuro read off the address. Hopefully the police would actually get a clue this time and show up for once.

---

When she finally came too, Hikage was sulking. Once again she had been kidnapped. Hopefully Kait wasn't the hurt in the process and that someone would come and rescue her soon. She began to look around. If it was anything she had learned from being kidnapped so often, it was to look around take in your surrounding. Crying isn't gonna help, but learning everything you could about your kidnappers would help greatly in arresting them later.

Hikage sighed to herself. She hoped Kait was alright.

----

Kuro examine the apartment building. It was quiet. It looked like everyone in this neighborhood was either asleep or not hope for the evening. He had to proceed with caution. If the kidnappers got wind of what he was doing, they would probably use Hikage as a shield. No guards outside, and it didn't look too complex of a security system either. Kuro would already see at least five different escape routes using the roof, doors, windows and fire escape. That would make he life easier. Now to figure out if they were armed or not.

Kuro ducked as he suddenly hear a car come up the road. Hiding himself in the shadows he watched the van come to a stop in front of the building. His eyes widen as he heard a familiar voice shout, "LET GO ME YOU BASTARDS!"

Kuro nearly fell over. That was Detective Moon's voice! What the hell was she doing here? He watched as two men dragged Moon and Mr. Rane into the building. Kait paused. He might have to rethink going into the building as Kuro with Moon in there. But it was far too late to go back and change into a different disguise. What to do?!

If they think they've won, they have another thing coming! Emma thought. The men dragged her and Mr. Rane into the building, down the hall, and into a room where she saw Hikage was also being held. The girl's eyes widened in surprise when she saw her father and the detective in the men's custody.

"Don't worry," Emma said to the girl, her annoyance at the whole evening reaching a breaking point. "I'm here to rescue you." She glanced at the kidnappers and winked.

One of the men took her bait and growled, "Shouldn't you be more afraid?"

She shrugged as she was roughly shoved into the corner. "I don't see why I should." The man pointed his gun at her face and she quietly added, "Oh yeah. That's why." Satisfied, the man lowered his gun and turned toward the one who had brought Hikage in.

Emma tried to make out what they were saying in their hushed tones, but couldn't. She was busy trying to wriggle out of her bonds without it looking like that's what she was doing. It didn't seem to be working. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of something silver just barely sticking out of Rane's pocket. A lighter! Strange, Emma thought. Raym Rane didn't strike her as the smoking type. But she could certainly use that to her advantage if she could just somehow get her hands on it while the men were distracted. Suddenly very happy that she had no shoes on, she nonchalantly reached out and nudged the lighter with her toes, worked it out of his pocket and moved it toward her hand.

Eureka!

Making sure the lighter was out of sight, she clicked it a few times until she felt the heat of the flame and held it to the rope that bound her hands. Biting down on her lip and wincing when the flame would get too close to her skin, she kept burning the rope, hoping the men wouldn't notice the smell until it was too late.

Just a little...more...and...

SNAP!

Emma lunged and tackled the nearest man, knocking the gun out of his hand. The other two looked at the tiny woman, momentarily stunned as she stood up before them and pointed the gun, now in her own posession, at one of their heads.

"Bet you didn't see that coming," she said. Over her shoulder to Hikage, she added, "Didn't I tell you I was here to rescue you?"

"You're forgetting one thing," one of the men said.

"What's that?"

*click*

Emma froze and turned her head to the side.

"You're not supposed to turn your back on your enemy." The man she had knocked over had pulled another gun out and now had it aimed back at her head.

*click*
*click*

The two others followed suit. Emma fumed.

Yep. The day just got worse.

Had Kuro been an anime character, he would have sweatdrop. While her efforts were brilliant, Detective Moon had made things far worse. At least he now knew that they were armed. He let out a sigh. Well it was time for another performance. He snapped his fingers. Let's get the show started.

---

Hikage was upset and worried. Detective Moon was trying to help, but Hikage feared the small lady was doing nothing but causing her own death. Hikage closed her eyes. Detective Moon was nothing more then a hindrance to these people. They would kill her. 'Kait, where are you?'

-Flap-

"What the hell?" the men shouted as doves came flying into the room.

Hikage smiled while Emma had a sinking feeling growing in stomach. This... seem really familiar somehow.

"You kidnappers never learn do you?"

The three men turned towards the window to see the phantom thief sitting on the windowsill. "Ku-Kuro Kage!" one man stammered out. What the hell was a thief like him doing here? Kuro smiled. In one hand, he held three guns while pointing his own gun at the kidnappers.

A sly grin grew on Kuro's face. "Consider this my notice. I'm here tonight for Ms. Hikage Rane, Mr. Rayn Rane, and of course, Detective Moon," he said in a sing song voice. "You won't make this heist difficult will you?"

"Kuro!"

Emma didn't know whether to be relieved or annoyed. And despite her present situation, annoyance was the emotion that won over. "I had it under control," she commented as she tucked the gun under her arm and walked over to untie Hikage and her father.

"Oh, I could see that," Kuro. He snapped his fingers again and the ropes that had previously tied Hikage and Raym disappeared right from beneath Emma's fingers. She heard a loud thud and turned to see the three men lying on the floor, unconscious, their hands and feet bound. "Nicely packaged for your convenience, Detective Moon."

"That's it!" Emma exclaimed. "How to hell do you do that?"

Kuro leaned in and with a wave of his hand, produced a beautiful bouquet of crimson colored roses. "Magic," he grinned, handing her the bouquet, which popped like a balloon as soon as Emma's fingertips touched it. She jumped back with a startled yelp as sparkly streamers fluttered to the floor.

Hikage watched the exchange with an amused smile as she helped her father to his feet. He had a large bump on the side of his head from where he had been knocked out and he rubbed it, gingerly.

Emma got in Kuro's face. "You may have saved my skin this time, but it doesn't change anything. You're a dangerous criminal and I'm taking you in, if it kills me!"

"Criminal? How you wound me, Detective Moon," Kuro's voice dripped with sarcasm. He was starting to feel tense, though, having Hikage and Mr. Rane standing so nearby. "I'd use different words to describe who I am." He turned around and smiled at Hikage, his dearest friend, and reached his hand out to her.

"Oh really?" Emma asked. "Like what? How about Kait Yume?" Kuro froze and Hikage gasped. Raym Rane looked completely puzzled as Emma continued. "Would that describe you a little better?" she asked sweetly.

(ooc - sorry! She's had a crappy night! Let the cat out of the bag. :P How will Rane react??)

"Perhaps it does," Kuro said, his face didn't betray his emotions but he was worried. "Perhaps it doesn't. You'll just have to catch me now won't you?"

Mr. Rane rubbed his head. "Look, Detective Moon was it? I do believe Kuro here just saved us. I don't suppose you could just let it go for tonight?"

"No!" Emma shouted. She had the thief cornered here.

Kuro signed. He had to think of a way out of this. "Detective Moon, since you're so eager to catch me, I'll tell you this. There will be one more heist, my finally heist. After that I'll disappear from this town completely. You have one more chance to catch me, to figure my game out. And I'll tell you now, the gem won't be returned. You'll have to figure out the time and date and the reason why, I'm so set on stealing this gem."

Kuro then turned to Hikage and kissed her hand. "And you my dear lady, need to stop being kidnapped. I can't promise that I'll always be here to protect you."

Hikage blushed before becoming sad, knowing the truth behind those words. If Kuro ever got caught... she would lose them both. Raym stared in shocked, wondering if what he was seeing was really happening. His baby girl, being courted by a thief! Hopefully this was all one big dream.

Kuro bowed and hopped up to the windowsill. "With that, I'll take my leave." Emma raced up to the window. She wasn't going to let him leave like that! But it was already too late, Kuro had disappeared. Emma looked down the street as she hear police sirens. She frowned. "Well that took them along time to get he--" She paused. How did they know where she was?

---

Meanwhile, Kuro flew over the wall of Hikage's house. He had only minutes to spare. He had to modify the video camera to show that he was unconcisous all the time. It wasn't that hard, it was the time he was worried about. He was actually amazed that he managed to pull this rescue mission without a problem. His head was pondering. 'There done.' He took off Kuro's costume and laid down back in the same spot.

Hopefully Hikage would come back soon.

"I don't understand why you're in such a bad mood, Emma!" Benton exclaimed. "Andrew Lane cancelled your leave, you nailed the kidnappers singlehandedly..." Emma bristled when he said this. "...and look," Benton slapped the paper on the table where Emma's face looked serious and beautiful under the headline, Moon Eclipses Kidnapping Plot. "You look great yet again!"

"You always make me look good," she grumbled, taking a swig of her coffee.

"You know I don't have to try," the young reporter insisted. Last night, he had been ready to give up completely on Emma and just let her live her life the way she seemed to want to. The happy-go-lucky man had actually been really irritated at the way she had blown him off until he caught wind of what exactly was transpiring. Chasing the cops all the way to the scene of the crime, he was there when they found the three men bound and knocked out on the floor, Raym Rane escorting his daughter (who looked rather spooked by everything) away, and Emma Moon looking livid and muttering under her breath. And yet, she wouldn't explain why she was so upset. He figured it must have been a stressful encounter.

"Have you ever known something to be true and yet, you don't have a single way of proving anything?"

"Actually, as a reporter, that's something I--" Benton started to respond, but Emma cut him off, seemingly oblivious to his speaking.

"I mean, what do I have to do? Just walk right up to..." She slammed her coffe cup on the table, spilling a little of it over the sides. Benton jumped when this happened, but then he felt himself grinning when he saw how much her face had lit up.

"Emma?"

"That's it!"

"What's it?" Benton was starting to get confused.

"I just need to walk right up and...Benton, you're a genius!" She leaned forward and gave him her customary peck on the nose before she threw money on the table, grabbed her stuff and ran out of the cafe, leaving the reporter sitting there, once again completely baffled.

The middle-aged waitress stopped by the table and pocketed the money. She shook her head at the door and turned to Benton. "Honey, if I were you, I'd move on." The reporter looked up, a pitiful look on his face and he sighed. As the waitress went back behind the counter, she added, "A pretty face isn't everything. She's gotta place some importance on the relationship too. But what do I know about these kinds of things?" she muttered to herself and walked into the back room.

"More than you know," Benton sighed again. "More than you know."

---

Meanwhile, Emma Moon walked with new purpose. She was going to knock on Kait Yume's door and confront him right then and there, without Hikage or anyone else around. He couldn't possibly look her in the eye and say he wasn't Kuro. She wasn't an idiot and this wasn't Superman. Even a pair of glasses and a change in the part of his hair wouldn't fool her into believing he was anyone else...

"Kuro...Kait...whatever the heck your name is...this round is mine!"

"I'm sorry, Kait isn't home right now," said Emily Yume, Kait's mother.

"Do you know where I can find him?"

"Hmmm well, I'm not really sure Miss...?"

"Emma Moon." Emma was careful not to say that she was a detective. She didn't want Kait's mother to become upset.

Emily Yume paused to think. She needed to stall this lady for just a moment. Despite what Kait thought, Emily knew all about her son's night time activities and the reasons why he did them. It was actually quite sweet of him and she was proud of him. She looked forward to having Hikage as a daughter in law... provided her son grew a backbone and tell her his feeling. Emily also knew that this woman standing on her doorstep was actually Detective Moon and she knew that Kait was actually worried that Detective Moon was finally catching on to who he was. That reporter came snooping around earlier this week too.

"He's probably at Hikage's house," Emily finally said. It was true. Kait was there, but actually getting into the house to talk to him, is a little more difficult and it would give Kait more time to react. "I swear that boy spends all his time there. He never comes home anymore. I'm lucky to see him once a week these days. I keep expecting him to tell me that he's moving in with the Rane family one day. Perhaps I should just ask Mr. Rane and save him the trouble." Parts of that was a fib. She saw Kait every night for dinner and Hikage and him spend just as much time here as they did at Rane mansion, but the detective didn't have to know that.

Emma twitched. No! This was not going according plan. She bit her lip and wondered what she was gonna do. She supposed she would just have to go over and speak to the both of them.

As soon as Emma was out of site, Emily called Kait's cellphone.

To her surprised Hikage picked up instead. "Hi Aunty. Kait is a little tied up. Sorry that he didn't come home last night."

Emily smiled. "It's okay dear. I heard about your kidnapping. You must have been pretty freaked out. I'm glad you're safe though," Emily said with a smile. Kait always brought Hikage home safely. "How is Kait tied up?"

Hikage gave a nervous laugh over the phone. "Well you see, aunty, not to worry you, but last night Kait got hit on the head. He doesn't want to see a doctor but I insisted on bandaging up his bump... and I got a little carried away. He's looking a bit like a mummy now."

Surprised, Emily began to laugh as she pictured Kait's head cover in bandages. Her laughter increased as she heard Kait's muffled words yell out what sounded like Hikage's name. "I'm sure he enjoys being taken care by you."

Hikage smiled on her side of the phone. "Thank you Aunty."

Emily then grew serious. "Also tell Kait that his friend Emma Moon dropped by just now looking for him. She'll probably be at your house any minute soon."

Hikage nodded. "Okay aunty. I'll tell him." Hikage hug up the call. "Hey Kait, Detective Moon is coming here."

Emma was troubled by what Emily had told her. Walking away from Kait's house, she paused and turned back around, deep in thought. She decided to ask Emily a little more and walked back toward the door, but stopped when she caught through the front window, a glimpse of the woman talking on her cell phone with a worried expression on her face. After Emily hung up, she picked up a framed photo of her son and shook her head.

Emma quickly turned and walked out of sight once more. His mother had called him, most likely to warn him, from the looks of her face. She knew. They all knew and that was what was so frustrating! She slid into her car and pulled away from Kait's house, driving toward the Rane mansion.

The young detective parked across the street, pulled out her own cell phone and dialed Benton, but got his voice mail. Frowning, she looked at the phone. That's odd. He always answers! She tried again and got the same result and then tried his office number.

"I'm sorry, Miss Moon, but Mr. Brown's unavailable right now," the receptionist replied and hung up before Emma could ask her when he might be back. Frustrated and a little miffed at the receptionists' shortness (which was odd in its own right, considering she was one of the most reported on people in the city and had graced more of their front pages than most people), she threw her cell phone down on the passenger seat. Why was Benton unreachable? Where was he? Was he angry with her for some reason?

Looking up to the vast mansion, Emma wondered if Kait was looking out at her from the inside. It seemed like one minute, she'd be so close to accomplishing her goal and the next, nothing went right. Why had she become so obsessed with Kuro over the past 5 years? And how would things change once she caught him?

She got out of the car and made her decision. She didn't care what the repercussions were at this point. She was tired of everyone getting in the way of her job. She walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. When a man answered, she said, "I need to speak with Kait Yume. I understand he's here?"

'He is, Ma'am," the doorman said. "Please come in."

She was ushered into a sitting room and while she waited, she picked up the cell phone again and absently dialed Benton's number. Voice mail. Kait walked into the room, followed by Hikage. Emma's eyes widened when she saw the bandages wrapped all around his head. She quickly stood and smiled warmly at Hikage. "How are you doing?"

"I'm well," Hikage answered uncertainly and looked up at Kait.

"If you don't mind, I'll need to get a statement from you about last night." She shrugged. "You know the routine."

"Yes, but Abel said you were asking to see Kait," the girl said.

Up to this point, Kait hadn't said anything. Emma looked at him and all she could see was Kuro looking back. "Actually yes. I need to speak with him alone if you don't mind."

"No disrespect intended, Detective Moon, but I do mind. After what happened at the mall, I don't feel comfortable with that."

Kait was surprised that Hikage was standing up like that. He felt such pride for the girl and turned back to Emma and shrugged. At this point, the last thing he wanted was to speak to the detective. He didn't want anything compromising the game and that very well could.

Emma frowned. "Miss Rane, I assure you I just need five minutes of his time. Ten at the most and then I'll leave."

But Hikage was adamant. "No! You need to go now. I'll submit my statement in the next day or so. Abel?" she called and the doorman appeared. "Please escort Detective Moon to the door."

"Miss Rane, please! Just five minutes!" Emma said. I just need to know why... But it was too late. The doorman took her arm and guided her out of the room. She looked over her shoulder and saw that Kait was staring at her with an intent expression on his face while Hikage looked very upset.

"Good day, Detective Moon," the doorman said and the door closed in her face.

Emma immediately pounded on the door, but it did not open. She tried dialing Benton one last time on her cell and got his voice mail. Exasperated, she sat down on the porch and buried her face in her hands.

"I'm sick of this game."

Kait who was busy untying the bandages of his head. "You know Hikage, I think that was the first time you actually stood up for yourself," he said quietly.

Hikage didn't answer him. She looked too upset. Kait sighed and wrapped his arms around her, comforting her. Hikage hated confrontation. She was such a shy and meek girl. "So how long have you know?"

"Years ago. I know always know when it's Kait," Hikage mumbled. She didn't want to lose Kait. Not now, not ever. "Did you mean it when you said you were gonna leave this town forever?"

Kait chuckled. "For Kuro? Yes. For plain old me, nope. I'm here by your side forever, remember?"

Hikage pouted slightly. "Good then. Don't get yourself arrested. Father will have to send me to a mental hospital if you leave me."

Kait chuckled. "I can't promise that completely, seeing as how Detective Moon is very persistence. But I will try my best."

Hikage stared at Kait. "What exactly are you after this time?"

Kait laughed this time. "You'll see Hikage. You'll see."

Hikage was uncomfortable with the whole situation. She didn't understand why Kait was being so mysterious. She wanted nothing more than for him to just be safe so she'd have the assurance that he'd never leave her side.

I can't promise that completely, he had said when she had implored him not to get arrested. Though he spent the next hour trying to reassure her, she didn't feel all that much better.

"What's troubling you, Hikage?" Raym Rane asked at dinner that night. His daughter had been through a lot during her lifetime and he blamed himself for most of it. Hikage shook her head and Rane pressed, "Is it what Detective Moon said last night?"

Hikage looked at her father. She couldn't lie to him so she nodded her head.

"Is there any truth in it?"

Hikage looked away, not wanting to lie and not wanting to answer, which was all the answer Rane needed.

"I see. Is he truly a good person?"

"Father, of course he is! How could you even ask that?"

Mr. Rane laughed and held up his hands. "I'm just making sure. I trust your judgment, Hikage and if you say he is, then he is."

"Detective Moon came here today, looking for him."

"I see," Mr. Rane said again, understanding exactly why his daughter looked so upset. He couldn't stand to see her like that and he knew that Kait Yume meant everything to her. He hated to misuse his status and power, but when it came to his daughter, he'd do anything necessary to see her happy. "Say no more, sweetheart. Say no more..."

---

"MOON! IN MY OFFICE!" Andrew Lane's voiced boomed throughout the tiny room, startling Emma out of her trance. She had been thinking about Benton a lot lately and was starting to get worried about him. He'd still not answered any of her calls and he didn't even show up at the cafe that morning. He never missed their morning coffee!

She stood up at her desk and walked the walk to Lane's office, kicking the men snickering and making comments along the way. She hated being the only woman in the department sometimes.

She stepped into his office and shut the door. "Yeah, Chief?"

"I'm going to have to let you go."

"WHAT?" She stood up even though she felt like her legs were about to give out. "Why?"

"You've not been performing as well lately," the older man said.

"You and I both know that's a lie! Except for Kuro, I've performed exceedingly well. And even with Kuro, we've retrieved virtually everything he's stolen!"

"I'm sorry, Emma," Andrew Lane's face softened.

"I could sue for wrongful termination!"

"That wouldn't get you anywhere, I can assure you."

At these words, it clicked. Raym Rane. It had to be! Hikage had been very upset by her appearance yesterday at the mansion. She must have spoken to her father. Lane was right. If Rane were behind this, there really was nothing she could do. His influence was too great. She slumped back down in the chair, a bit in shock.

"I can give you a good letter of recommendation," Lane suggested.

"But if I've not performed well, wouldn't it be lying?" Emma snapped. "Save your time. I'll clean out my desk."

This time, as she made her way back to her desk, the men in the room knew not to say a word. The walls were paper thin and they had heard everything. For all the times they picked on her, there was no doubt the force wouldn't be the same.

As Emma Moon walked out of the room with her head held high, holding a box of her stuff, she knew that her first stop would definitely be the grocery store.

Desperate times like this called for ice cream.

Ice cream was a comfort food. For unknown reasons, it always made /-everyone feel happy and better. Only this time, it wasn't working. Emma was pouring her heart over her double chocolate ice cream bowl. It wasn't fair! How could she be let go like that? What gave Rane the power to do so?
And stupid Benton hadn't shown up in days!

Emma sat there, thinking. What was she suppose to do now? Move to another city and forget about everything? She spend five years working on catching Kuro and now she'll never get the chance.

"You know girls shouldn't be crying over a bowl of ice cream."

Emma looked up to see middle age business man handing her his hankie. "Cheer up. I'm sure whatever problems you can work out."

Emma took the hankie. Just as she was about to blow her nose, a card fell out. She pictured it up. It read:

My apologizes about your job Detective. Perhaps you would like to hear a story? Meet me tonight in the city park at midnight. No tricks, no heist, just come by yourself. - Kuro Kage

Emma looked for the businessman. What on earth?! What was Kuro trying to pull now?

---

Hikage paced back and forh in her room. She was convinced that between her father and Kait, they were both trying to give her a heartattack from all this stress. This morning she had found out that her father had used his power to fire Detective Moon. Hikage was more or less horrified. She didn't want the small lady to be fired! To leave Kait alone yes, but fired? Hikage wanted to hit her head.

She picked up a picture of a woman with long brown hair and bright blue eyes. The lady was wearing a ruby pendent, a lost family heirloom. "Mother," Hikage muttered. "What am I gonna do?"

Emma almost threw the card away. She was sick of this game, though she admitted the only reason was because she was losing and she hated conceding defeat. But what could she do? She had no authority to arrest Kuro, no backup, and no gun for that matter. She turned the card over in her hand. Should I or shouldn't I? But she and Kuro both knew what she would choose. This was a chance for her to learn the truth even though she'd not be able to do anything with it.

That evening, she tried calling Benton one more time and this time, he answered.

"H-hullo?"

"Benton, where the hell have you been! I've been trying to get ahold of you for days!"

There was a long pause before he responded. "I know."

"You know?? Then why didn't you answer! You wouldn't believe the crap I've been through!"

Benton sighed and thought, It's always about you, Emma. You call when you need me, but never just because. He hated what he was about to say, but knew he needed to resolve this once and for all. "I'm sorry...um...I just..."

"What is it?" Emma asked.

"Do you remember how you were supposed to give me an answer to my question?"

The former detective was silent a few seconds and then she apologized. "I'm sorry, I've just been so caught up with everything, I've not really had a chance to--"

Benton interrupted her. "I just want to let you know I don't need an answer any more. I just...can't keep chasing after you like this. I'm sorry. I hope you catch your criminal."

CLICK

For the second time that day, Emma felt like her legs would give out underneath her. Benton Brown had been the one thing she could count on staying consistent. Though the signs should have been obvious, she never saw it coming.

---

The night was peaceful and a figure stood on a high, sturdy branch, surveying the city park. Right on schedule, a small woman in jeans and a baggy sweatshirt walked down the sidewalk and plopped herself on a bench. She was alone and had never looked so...emotionless...in all the times he had ever seen her before. He saw her look at her watch and then heard her speak.

"Kuro, I know you're there. Game over for me. You win. I fold."

(lol - angsty post! Cheer my girl up! j/k :P)

Like magic, Kuro appeared from the shadows of the tree. "Good evening Miss Moon. I take it your day didn't go to well."

"No you think?" Emma said with a venomous tone. "You're the cause of it."

"She knows you won't accept the apology, but Hikage says she is sorry. Because she was so upset, she wasn't thinking clearly when her father ask her what was wrong. You can't really blame her, police and detectives like yourself tend to make her jumpy and upset. You are not directly to blame of course," said Kuro. He took out a ball and began to play with it.

"Is that your way of saying that you're Kait Yume?" Emma asked.

"Who knows. I'll leave that for you to figure out. I promised a story and nothing more Miss Moon," said Kuro. Emma was surprised. Gone from the thief's face was the mischief and playing, only seriousness and danger lurked within the eyes. "As you may or may not have figured by now, I don't steal for my own personal gain. I always return the gem to you or the rightful owners. There is one last jewel missing from this town which I intend to steal."

"Is it yours?" Emma asked.

"No. It belongs to a girl. You see long ago, there was girl and her mother that use to come to this park. They were a happy family. But people grew envious of this family. They plotted to steal and take away some precious from both the girl and mother. One day they strike. They killed the mother, and took the precious pendent that mother own. They rob the girl of her mother and a family heirloom. The killer got away. That is the person and the gem that seek, Miss Moon. Are you now beginning to understand?"

Emma was silent. No not really, she understood what Kuro was staying but she didn't know the story. It didn't sound familiar. "Wait, Kuro, what does all of this mean?"

Silent was her answer. Kuro had already left.

Emma remained on the park bench for a long time, just sitting and enjoying the stillness around her. She had two options. She could go home, go to bed, wake up, and take Lane up on his offer of a letter of recommendation, concentrating on finding a new job and washing her hands of this whole Kuro mess...or she could use her skills to put more pieces of the puzzle together despite the fact that she no longer had any claim to the case.

Of course, she would choose the latter. What else did she have left to hold onto but Kuro? Her job was gone and now, Benton was gone too. What else was there? The only problem she was now facing was the fact that when it came to him, the line between good guy and bad guy was now starting to blur. Emma Moon had always been a black & white person. She never thought in shades of grey...until now. He'd always been the enemy, the bad guy, the trickster. But the story he had told had her intrigued.

"No!" she insisted out loud, though Kuro was long gone. "You're a criminal and that's it. You're breaking the law and you need to answer for it! Two wrongs don't make a right!" She stood up. "I don't know how I'm going to do it, Kuro, but I'm going to be the one to set all this straight."

But first, she needed answers!

As soon as it was open, she drove to the library in order to research the story. She looked through the microfiche for hours to the point where her eyes started to blur together. If someone hadn't dropped a book nearby, causing her to jump, she might have missed what she was looking for. But the sound of the book hitting the floor jarred her back into being able to focus and there was the headline...

Wife of Multimillionaire, Raym Rane, Found Dead

Emma's eyes grew wider with each line she read. Nothing about any sort of pendant was mentioned, but there were too many coincidences for this not to be whom he spoke of. She knew that Kait Yume loved Hikage and Hikage had lost her mother. Kait was obviously Kuro and she had gotten too close to revealing the truth, which would have led to his arrest. In order to protect his daughter and her close friend, Raym Rane used his influence to get her fired. And now Kait...or Kuro...planned to track down the person who killed Hikage's mother and would retrieve the pendant to return to her. But what would he do with the man? Kill him? Let him go?

Oy! This made her head hurt!

She jotted down a few details and then left the library, driving to the municipal building where deep on the second lower level, the old police records were kept. She crossed her fingers that they hadn't heard of her termination yet and she was in luck!

Pocketing her badge, which she had neglected to hand over to Lane upon walking out, she was granted access to the dimly lit records room. She spent another hour in there, gathering as much information as possible. But there were so few leads on the murderer and even though Rane had such influence in the city, the case had been dismissed as unsolveable. Still, she had learned a lot today. Now she just needed to process it all and see if anything clicked.

She was so engrossed in her research that she didn't hear someone else enter the records room. She made a few copies and dropped the originals in the refile tray and left. The person who had come in behind her picked up the files she had dropped in the tray and one by one, ran them through the nearby paper shredder.

(Sorry...kind of a boringish one!)

Hikage paced back and forth. What was she gonna do? No doubt Detective Moon was already figuring out the case. She sat down. Perhaps she could strike a deal with Detective Moon. Give her back her job in exchange for not arresting Kait.

She knew that Detective Moon was smart. She was could catch on soon enough. Even if Kait promises only one more heist, there was still one more chance for him to be arrested.

Hikage fretted. What to do?

----

Kait knew he had just done something extremely stupid. But, it wasn't fair to Moon, if she didn't know the reasoning behind his actions. And hopefully she'll get the idea that he wasn't the bad guy and actually stop trying to arrest him or kill him for the matter.

Hikage was probably worrying up a storm. He'll have to apologize to her tomorrow.

He let out a sigh. Only a few more days.

Emma snuggled down deeper in her bed, trying to block out the persistent ringing of the telephone. She pulled the pillow over her head, but the stupid thing kept ringing. "Who's calling at this hour?" she muttered, but then realized it was already nearing noon and "this hour" really wasn't early at all. She had unplugged her answering machine the day before, not wanting to be bothered. She should have just unplugged the phone too!

"Hello," she finally answered it, cradling the receiver as she turned over in bed again. However, all sleepiness drained away and she immediately sat upright when she heard the voice on the other end.

"Miss Moon?"

"Who is this?" she asked warily, though that voice was all too familiar to her as of late.

"I-it's Hikage."

"Ah, Hikage," Emma said sarcastically. "How nice of you to call. You'll have to thank your father for me."

"Thank him?" Hikage asked uncertainly.

"Oh yes. For that little phone call he made the other day. The one to my boss," she growled. It was evident she hadn't had her morning coffee.

Hikage gulped. This wasn't going to be easy. "That's what I'm calling about. I feel terrible about it. That wasn't supposed to happen. It was a misunderstanding."

"Well, it happened," Emma replied and Hikage was silent for a moment. She hated confrontations like this, but for Kait's sake, she had to press on.

"Look. I'll just get right down to it. If I got you your job back, would you promise not to arrest Kait? I don't know what I'd do if I lost him."

"You'd survive," Emma said. "You can't live your life relying on others, Hikage. Especially not men. They'll always let you down in the end. I know from recent experience. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

"Please Miss Moon! Emma. I know what it feels like to lose people you love. Please don't make me lose yet another!"

This time, Emma was silent. She couldn't help but feel for the girl, especially after reading so much about the case the day before. She may be a self-centered, Type-A, workaholic, but she wasn't completely heartless. And there was one loophole.

"Could you wave your magic wand and bring Benton back too?" she laughed.

"I'm sorry?"

"Nothing. Hmm...I suppose everyone does deserve a second chance." I wish I'd get mine. "Alright," she sighed. "If you can somehow get me my job back, I promise not to arrest Kait Yume." She emphasized his name. She was not promising, however, not to arrest Kuro Kage. "But Hikage, if I'm working, they're going to expect me to do certain things and I'm going to have to comply. I'm not going to go back to my job and constantly be bowing to pressure. I'm here to protect and to solve crimes and bring people in and I don't want to ever be corrupt or bought out."

"I understand," the girl replied. And she did understand. It wasn't 100% what she wanted to hear, but it was something. At least Kait would be safe for now. And he had outsmarted Detective Moon the last 5 years. Surely this one last time, he would be able to as well. "You'll get your job back, Miss Moon. I promise."

When she hung up the phone, Hikage took a deep breath and tried to release the tension that had been building in her shoulders. She couldn't believe she just made that call. Kait would be so proud to know that she had been able to do so, though she wasn't sure that she wanted him to know.

At any rate, now to make one more call and make sure that email got sent. It was a small world. Word got around...

----

Benton was trying to put a pattern of Kuro's moves together. He wanted to understand why Emma had become so obsessed with the situation. It was his way of holding on to her, though he had been the one who decided it was best to let her go in the first place.

His computer beeped at him and he switched over to his email program and clicked on the new message that had come in:

Everyone deserves a second chance. Even third, fourth, and fifth chances. Think about it.

A few days passed like the wind. Kait got dressed in his Kuro Kage outfit for the last time. Tonight was suppose to be simple, dangerous but simple. There would be no performance, no police. Just a straight forward heist. He was to be in and out with the ruby. The dangerous factor is that man he was stealing it from, was the same killer from all those years ago. If a man can kill once, he can kill again.

The ideal way for this heist to go is to go in, steal the ruby, somehow get the man to confess to his crimes all those years ago, leave, get the police to arrest him and leave the ruby with Hikage. Of course Kait knew while all of that might happen, there was nothing to ease his mind that he might be killed. He highly doubt Detective Moon would figure out that he was stealing the ruby tonight. As he said no calling card and of course, she didn't know where the ruby pendent was. It took Kuro 5 years to track it down.

Not to mention, no one is supposed to get hurt. If Detective Moon and the police force show up, things would get nasty. No. He wouldn't have that happen.

Within a few minutes Kuro landed on the rooftop of the house. There were a few guards but nothing he couldn't take care of. Using the shadows, he blended into the night. A little knockout gas, acting, and pressure points cleared the first few guards. The security system wasn't too complex. The basic alarms on the doors and windows, easily passable.

The Ruby pendent was in the safe of the living room. Kuro more with ease through the room, trying not to knock over anything. Man was a pig. Clutter and trash was all over the place. All was quiet. That was good. No one figured out that he was here yet and Detective Moon certainly hasn't caught on.

It took a few minutes, but he finally cracked the safe. 'Finally' , he thought. He removed the ruby pendent and placed it in a box which went into his pocket. Now to get out of here.

However, Kuro made one mistake and that mistake, while it wasn't something he could have foreseen, brought a whole extra bit of trouble into the mix: he didn't check the bathroom.

The young security guard who barely looked out of high school, had had a stomach ache all night from overindulging on Mexican food at lunch. As he walked out of the bathroom, holding his stomach and grimacing, he was shocked to see one of his coworkers lying, knocked out on the floor. Rounding the corner of the hallway, he discovered another man lying on the floor, unconscious. "Oh crap!" Seeing as this was only his second day on the job, he didn't think twice. He ran to the phone and dialed 9-11.

---

"...a possible hostage situation. We don't know what the hell you'll be facing!" Emma clutched the cell phone as Chief Lane spoke. "Give it all you've got!"

"It'll be more than the rest of 'em," she replied smugly, which caused Andrew Lane to smile on the other end. He was happy to see her finally getting back to normal. She had been so moody the last few weeks, with good reason.

Emma Moon pulled up to the building and was joined by 5 more police cars. She slammed the door shut and pulled out her gun. Knowing nothing of the situation and never suspecting Kuro was involved, she ran to the security guard, who was standing outside, looking positively green. They're getting kids to do this stuff now? she thought with annoyance. "What happened?"

"I-I dunno! I came out of the bathroom and they were all knocked out. I-I'm sorry! I didn't know what to do! Am I going to lose my job?"

Emma laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. She understood the kid's worry. "Not if I can help it. But I would suggest a little more emergency training." The security guard nodded and Emma pushed passed him and went inside.

---

Inside the room, with the ruby safe in his pocket, Kuro grimaced when he heard the sirens. How'd they know to come here? But that sound didn't trouble him as much as the man's voice and the click of a gun.

"Stop right there."

((Lookie Aliena! We have another reader!! *points to poll*))

Kuro sighed. He should have expected this. He turned around slowly. The man standing behind him had dusty gray hair and black eyes. A scar reached from his right cheek to his jaw.

"I wasn't expecting you Kuro Kage," the man snarled. "What are you after?"

Kuro attempted to give a grin. "Nothing but justice, Mr. Jones. After all I'm only here to take back you stole 12 years ago."

The man laughed. "What thing?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Mr. Jones," Kuro said, flipping on his recorder. "Or should I call you John Myan."

Myan, alias Jones, froze. "How do you know about that," he hissed.

"I know everything about it. It took forever, but I finally tracked you down," Kuro said calmly. "Why did you do it?"

Myan laughed. "Why did I do it? The ruby was said to bring good luck! Not to mention that I wanted revenge against that bastard Rane. That's why I killed Rane's wife! And the rest of the jewelry I took off Syae Rane's body set me for life. The only thing I regret is now being able to kill off their daughter. Cause the ultimate suffering for Rane! But since you now know that, I'm gonna have to kill you!"

Myan's clicked the safety off the gun.

(Poop - they voted thief! :P Oops...plot hole! I didn't notice it was a house. I thought it was some sort of other residential building! Whoopsie!)

Emma stood in the lobby of the building and looked around cautiously. Whoever lived here must be a rich one, she decided. The place was huge! And to be surrounded by security guards...

Several of her men burst through the door and she barked at them to be quite. Idiots! It was bad enough the sirens were wailing outside. She knew whoever was here would be waiting and ready. She tiptoed from door to door and pressed her ear against each, gun ready. After a few minutes, she reached the living room and heard through the door, I wasn't expecting you Kuro Kage. Emma froze. The final heist! What a lucky coincidence! But her blood ran cold as she realized what was going on.

Hikage's words came back to her: I know what it feels like to lose people you love. Please don't make me lose yet another!

Putting all the knowledge of the research she had completed together and thinking about everything that had happened the last few weeks, she knew what she had to do. And she couldn't believe she was doing it!

She ran into the next room, hoping to open a window and find a way to enter the living room from the outside, but she cursed silently when she saw there was no window in the room. But she certainly couldn't burst through the living room door and she didn't have time to run back outside and try to figure out which room the living room was! So how else would she get inside? Her eyes scanned the room and then she saw the air vent. It would be cramped, but she was little. She stood on a chair, opened the air vent, pulled herself up and squeezed her way inside, crawling a short distance until she was over the living room. Peering down, she saw that Kuro was standing, facing her direction, but the man he was facing, who was holding a gun, had his back to her.

She said a quick prayer, silently slid the airvent to the side and started to descend.

(ooc - do what you want, but don't let Kuro run off just yet! ;) )

((Thieves rock~ Especially phantom ones. That's okay. We'll just go with the flow~))


Kuro didn't say a word when he saw Detective Moon slide into the room. A mischief gleam returned in his eyes. This was unexpected but he would have to go with the flow.

"Revenge against Rane? What the hell did he do?" Kuro asked.

Mayn, still not noticing Detective Moon, laughed. "That bastard put me out of business. Taking away his fortune wasn't enough. I took away his wife and mentally damaged his daughter. That was more then enough. Stealing away the family heirloom was just the cherry on top of everything."

Kuro scowled. "You're a bastard you know that?"

Mayn grinned insanely. "But of course. Now return the pendent to me and then we'll get onward to killing you."

((All yours! xD))

BANG!

The force of the gunshot caused Emma to stagger backward and Mayn gasped. His eyes bugged out and he dropped his gun, staggering forward a few steps before falling to the floor.

Kuro felt both relief and disappointment. Relief that he could keep his promise to Hikage, but disappointment that the man had not died by his own hand. "I must say, Detective Moon," he said smoothly, "I am quite--"

"Cut the act, Kait," Emma said, pocketing her gun. "We don't have much time." Kuro cocked his head and Emma motioned toward the dead man. "Your costume." When Kuro raised his eyebrows in question, Emma explained. "I promised Hikage I'd not arrest Kait Yume. I said nothing about Kuro Kage. You know my job is to bring Kuro in. But if he's dead," she shrugged. "He is dead, right?"

"I have no more use for him," the thief said quietly, adopting the characteristics of Kait.

"Good," said Emma. "Then we both win."

Kuro stared at the tiny woman who had pursued him relentlessly for five years. How different things would be! He removed the outer parts of his costume, making certain he had the pendant, and Emma dressed the slain man. Strangely enough, he had a hard time parting with the outfit. It had become such a part of him and though he'd been planning to lay Kuro to rest, it still felt as if he were losing a part of himself.

He turned around once more and said, "Do you honestly think they're going to believe that this man is the legendary Kuro Kage?"

"Let me worry about that," Emma said, pushing him toward the window. "I couldn't let you kill him," she added. "You don't want someone's blood on your hands. Trust me on that one. Just go. You've got something special. Don't lose it." Kait knew she wasn't talking about the pendant. She looked at his face long and hard, an unreadable expression on her own. She held out her hand and he took it, giving it a firm shake.

"Great game, Detective Moon."

(Hope you don't mind that! back to you and then I think I'll do one more)

Kait mused to himself and he left the building as quickly as he came. So Kuro Kage was dead. He supposed he should have told detective moon have Shiroi Hikari was still an active alias. Of course that one was used just for rescuing Hikage only. Oh well, chances are Detective Moon would never meet Shiroi Hikari. In fact Hikage had only met that alias once and that was only because Kuro's outfit was being cleaned.

The game was finally over. He slipped into Hikage's house with ease. He had made it into the living room when Hikage called out to him. "Kait?"

Kait turned around nervously. In all honestly he had hoped to just leave the pendent for Hikage to find. But like always, he would never be able to fool her.

"Kait are you alright? Did something happen?" Hikage asked frantically.

Kait held up his hands. "Maa, maa Hikage. Calm down. I'm fine. And..." he scratched his cheek. "I think this belongs to you." He held up the ruby pendent.

Hikage's eyes widen. "Mother's pendent... how?" she asked.

Kait scratched the back of his head this time. "Well it's a long story." He guided to her to the library. "I'll tell you all about it."

---

When Kait woke up the next morning, to find Hikage leaning on his shoulder, he couldn't help but smile. He was here to protect her forever. Stroking his hair, he could only begin to imagine what the newspaper headlines said. No doubt that Detective Moon would be getting a party thrown in her honor for the capturing Kuro Kage at last.

Kait chuckled to himself. Well all that was left was to take Hikage to her room so that she could finish sleeping and to start explaining to Mr. Rane about how the family heirloom suddenly returned.

Tonight's party would be interesting to attend.

Emma awoke the next morning in a similar position as Hikage, only the one she leaned against wasn't a young college student, but rather a tall, lanky reporter. She blinked her eyes in surprise. "Did I fall asleep?" she yawned and looked around. They were sitting on the park bench.

Benton grinned down at her and nodded. She leaned her head against his shoulder again and he stroked her hair. She glimpsed something sparkly on her left hand out of the corner of her eye and smiled contentedly. As she had come out of the building as the medical team rushed in to deal with "Kuro's body,", he was the first thing she saw. There, ready to make her look good like he always did. He was always there and she hoped he always would be.

When everything had died down, the two walked hand in hand to the park and there, had a heart to heart - they're first of many. Benton asked her his question one last time and this time, she had an answer for him. And then they simply sat there, enjoying the silence of the night.

"Aren't they expecting an article from you? I mean, who's going to make me look good?" she joked as they watched the sunrise together.

The reporter replied, "It's taken care of." Sure, it cost him $50 to get his buddy to do it for him, but moments like this were priceless! "Want to go get some coffee?"

"You know me too well!"

----

Kait took Hikage to the mall again that day. As he listened to her talk animatedly, he mused on how much stronger she had grown in the last few weeks and he was glad.

"Kait, look!" she exclaimed as they passed the little cafe. She pointed in the window and he peered in to see Detective Moon and the reporter, standing at the counter, while three of the waitresses crowded around them, examining Emma's left hand.

Benton saw the two out of the corner of his eye and smiled as he noticed them looking in and then turned his attention back to Emma. He had no idea it had been Hikage who had sent him that email.

"Good for him," the girl grinned.

-----

It had been a bit messy explaining everything to the Chief, but the man known as Jones, had quite a shady past, many suspicious objects in his residence, and luckily no family. She had burst into the room and after a few minutes dialogue with the man, he tried to kill her, causing her to pull the trigger first. She never wanted to kill the man, but had to for her own safety. Lane seemed to chew on her words for a few minutes, but finally shut the file folder in front of him and used his "case closed" stamp on it. "You better not have messed this one up, Moon."

"Not to worry, Chief," she replied. "I didn't make a mistake."

"Then make sure you show up tonight at Antonio's. I think you deserve a big plate of lasagna, don't you? We'll get all the boys together. Maybe invite some of the town to come out. Make it seven, ok? And bring a date," he gestured to her left hand and winked.

"Sounds perfect, Chief!" Emma smiled and walked out of his office, whistling a happy tune. The men in the room looked at each other and snickered. It was weird seeing the woman this happy. But they supposed she had every reason to be. And indeed, she did.

The game was over and she could finally start living again!

Kait was taking Hikage to Antonio's for dinner for two reasons. One was to spy on Detective Moon and two he wanted to treat Hikage to dinner.

"Is that Detective Moon?" Hikage asked.

Kait grinned. "Yeah they're throwing a party in her celebration."

"She looks happy," Hikage said, smiling.

"Yeah."

"And since Kuro is gone, I guess I have to rely on Kait and Shiroi now huh?" Hikage said, smiling at Kait this time.

Kait blinked. "Heh, I could never fool you could I?" He leaned over and kiss her on the cheek. "The game is over, the dance has finished, and they live happily ever after."

((Chu~ xD I think I'm just about done [depending if you write another post or not and what is in it] so anything else you want to wrap up, I'll give you full reins~ xD Good luck~ xD))