Chapter Text
"This is wrong," Lev mewed, wide eyes narrowing in at the not flashing alarm, arms clutching the riches closer to his chest. Shibayama knew Collar's plans rarely went wrong, but he also knew Lev's instincts sensed trouble like he made it. Collar left these plans in case he was gone, now he was missing from the band of super-powered rouges and so everyone is confused and anything can go wrong at any moment.
"It's not ringing, what could possibly be wrong?" Shibayama Yūki commonly known as Phaser whispered trying to unlock one of the drawers holding the buyer's diamonds, ignoring his hammering heart of doing something definitely illegal, no matter how used to it he was, how intensely the buyer apparently wanted the jewels, no matter how much one stolen set of gems were for a multi-billion corporation that didn’t update their security, or pay their taxes.
He’s also still very confused to why that buyer specifically wanted those jewels, or why he liked Lev or why Armful or Gooman didn't come instead.
"It should be ringing," and Stripers pointed towards something that made Shibayama's pores wet themselves. It was an up-to-date security camera which definitely wasn't on the plan diagram, or matched the ancient interior of the old bank.
"Chemist?" Shibayama said, just above a quiet squeak, "Chemist!"
"Oh sorry, come in Phaser, what seems to be the problem? Over," Kurō voice comes crackling to life over the stolen earpiece radio.
"There's a camera over," Lev gasps, interrupting the line and Yuuki's concentration and dizzying panic because that was really cute. It was as if they were in a photo booth instead of a bank holding billions of yen.
"I know we all memorised where the cameras were," the infamous cat burglar/gang leader grumbles, you can actually hear him burying his hands in his face in the dim light of the secret base above Inuoka’s work, “Please tell me Phaser you haven't caught Striper's idiot."
There’s an insulted hey filtering through Yuuki’s ears, quirking his mouth, despite the worry still dictating the imperfection of his breathing.
"There's a camera in front of the vault's door, was there one in front of the door? Over," Shibayama said with desperation, he knew he was going to be made fun of but seriously, he just needs to check. He just needs to be safely tucked in the knowledge of the police not knowing who committed the robbery.
"What?"
"Oh my god, have we missed something?" Lev said more surprised than Yuuki was terrified.
"No? I don't," Kurō says confused, "Oh god, if Compression hears about this I will literally die! Over, remember to say over. Over." He virtually screamed the name of his nemesis.
"We did miss something!"
"Change of plans then Kurō? Over." Shibayama asks trying his best not to give way to his legs in his panic. Not going to embarrass himself. He then realized he gave the Chemist's coveted name away, did it anyway.
"Yeah. Phaser, I need you to disable the camera, I know it's normally Collar's job, but he's still somewhere," Chemist breathing is heavier than the lead in his belt and is being stretched like the concept of time.
"No need for much panic, just steal the tape, it's not like the police is going to show up over," Chemist said voice recomposing his calm demeanor.
"How do we know?" Lev pipes up. Shibayama curses the fact Lev was inquisitive by nature, even when he really shouldn't be.
"How do we know Lev?" Chemist's composure crashed into blind confidence, "Because I said so! Let's check police scanners! What do we hear?"
A different voice came from over the radios. Lacking of reverberation, and has layers of crackling.
"There's a 530 going on at Futakachi Bank, threat unknown the JHL assistance has been requested."
Even when the radio was shut off, all three boys still didn't make a word.
"Keep calm," came the words whistling through Tetsurō's teeth, radio's and the two younger boys.
Shibayama began to repeat Kurō like a parakeet, clinging to himself and tucked in like a turtle about to be hit. Lev was in shock confusedly staring at the drawer with the gems in them as if they had anything to do with the colossal fuck up.
"What should we do Kurō," Haiba finally finding the words.
"Codenames dammit! And, and, I don't know! Oh my god as in JLA as with Compression? Compression’s the type of person to be sent on these missions!" Chemist shouted, instead of resolving to punch the screen.
You know it takes a special kind of stupid not to feel pressure. Despite the odds, despite the consequences and despite the disappointment in failure, that stupid would be able to keep you calm.
Luckily Lev was that kind of stupid.
"Should we deal with the police? Over."
It takes seconds they don't have for Kurō to calm down.
"You're right Yuuki, buddy?"
Two seconds pass which Tetsurō just wants to claw right back to him.
"Yes?"
"I need you to get the video and prep the getaway car."
"What about the package? Over." Shibayama asks.
"Fuck the package," Chemist spits, "this is probably a goddamn set up that I didn’t take the time to figure it fucking it out! This bank hasn't had an update since the 80's and is an insurance claim just waiting to happen! So who cares!" Chemist starts in a no-nonsense tone he uses to tell Collar to go to bed "Stripers, I want you to do distraction."
"Really!" Yuuki notes Lev's tone goes too cheery and adorable for a guy who's a hundred and ninety centimeters, "Fuck subtle?" He remembers the last time Lev ‘fucked’ subtle. “Over?”
"No. And language. Over."
"But you," Lev couldn't finish his complaint because of an awkwardly loud giggle sourced from Shibayama, but when he looked at Lev, expecting the boy's version of 'I'm judging you' stare, he saw pure unadulterated joy. Yuuki would be lying if he said that didn't even make him blush a little bit. He doesn’t know if it’s Lev’s jade eyes or the fear of being jailed that makes him groan.
"Get going, they'll be time to flirt when you get back later, over," Kurō sighed, static pricking their ears. Now they were both definitely blushing. “Hurry up, don’t make me regret letting you to work together, over.”
Lev left the vault too quickly for Shibayama to deny the claims, he wasn't ready to deal with the embarrassment of having a crush, but he had to be ready to deal with the video camera.
Source it, destroy it, check it, collect it ran through his head like a song on repeat.
He goes underneath the spherical camera. He notes there's not enough room for a tape so it must've been wireless.
He needs to relay that information to Kurō, easy enough.
“Chemist it’s wireless, over.”
“Roger, over,” Kurō replies quickly efficiently, Shibayama could hear the keys tapping in the background. Was the sourcing it step really that easy?
He climbs up the wall by phasing and forming in repeated painful steps.
As he gets close to the camera, just a minute of the burning, Yuuki hang in there, on his mind, everyone’s depending on you. Left leg yanking on him and getting stuck halfway up. He can’t help the tears bursting from his ducts.
Keep calm, his body was starting to convulse from physical exertion and the fact that sandstone just hurt so much to phase through and to grip on to with the molecules weak molecules of his muscles.
He kept going just when he could feel his left leg pull itself up.
He finally reached the camera, tears in his eyes and hands going red. Kissing it to distract himself from the torture that came next he shoved his hand through to the base trying to ruin the mechanics from the inside to out.
He did it. There was a crunch and he could feel gears and cogs fall to the bottom of the dome and painfully ripping through his palm.
"I got it," he whispers, pulling out his surprisingly wet palm from the device. He doesn’t normally sweat this much. Does it matter if Collar’s just going to steal the evidence, once they found him?
"Good job Shibayama remember don't let go to suddenly," Chemist chimed in, he then heard an aggressive hiss, “don’t be so obvious, take out the officers covertly Stripers, fuck why does your name sound like shitty candy!”
He let go suddenly, with a smile on his face to the sound of a gently whispered somebody else chose it. Detaching himself from a solid state to a heavy gas, like the sensation of letting go of rope.
He fell to the bottom of the wall and phased through the floor, hearing the crack of the earpiece. He could feel himself going hazy like his mind. Instinctively he solidified his feet ever so slightly to stop himself.
He sat up, through sandstone tears streaming down his face, he forces himself forward and prays he’s pseudo standing through the sandstone and reaches. He feels the sensation of dunking his right arm into a cool bucket of water, thankful that it was really easy finding the surface.
Completely solidifying his hand on the surface of the ground he pushed himself up and up until he was free of the ground, and just let his state return to normal. He's laying down, panting, throbbing, his hands and feet were bright red, like blood. Was he bleeding out? He thinks he can feel the earpiece on the back of his head.
As he closed his eyes leisurely staring at the hopefully broken video camera. Questioning if he was useless to the Nekoma Troupe, reminding himself he did forget the last two steps turning this low level case into high-level failure.
As the regret and self-loathing filled his stomach he closed his eyes.
000
The night sky is a nice thing to wake up to.
That's what Shibayama Yuuki thought as he observed the starless city's night sky on his back. All he knew and cared about was somehow, miraculously he wasn’t seeing the ceiling of a hospital, a jail or the testing labs of the JHA. Maybe Lev, Taketora, Kurō or even Inuoka got him out of the bank. Hopefully it was Lev though, because that meant he probably didn't care about Kurō's flirting comment, he thought, hands rushing to his face, probably meant the others didn’t mind him skipping the last two steps, thank god, next time he’s going to do it for sure.
"Hey you're awake!" came the voice belonging to Shibayama’s man of the hour. He sounded peppy like he had some kind of surprise that was somehow better than a successful mission.
"What's going on Lev?" Shibayama asks.
“Nothing much! You look like you recovered from your molecules-in-the-wrong-place whole thing and guess what! I’m not so tired! We’re laying low away from base, on deserted rooftops while Kuroo with Taketora and Fukunga are stealing the tapes and planting false evidence, do you know what laying low away from base entitles?”
Shibayama was pretty sure he wouldn’t be able to guess what Lev was thinking, "no."
He looks around, and then gives Shibayama a wide, a little creepy grin.
"Undercover dates," his voice was low but shaking in excitement, and he was definitely beginning to blush.
Shibayama can't help but let out an honest and giddy laugh, “let me pick up some clothes and get changed.” He failed but he’s pretty sure he’s succeeded in other things before. Next time he’ll do it better.