Chapter Text
Ch-1
"Dr. Karigari!"
Sasagawa was shaking as she looked ahead, but she couldn't take her eyes off from where she last saw him.
She was safe, thanks to him, but...
Desperately, Sasagawa wanted to look away, she wanted to run. The building was completely engulfed in flames. But he had to make it out somehow. He was always doing impossible things.
There was an explosion, but it made no sound.
"Dr. Karigari!"
Sweat poured from Sasagawa's forehead as she awoke in her own bed. She knew right away that it was a dream. Perhaps, in her mind, she was aware of it the whole time.
'Why do I keep having dreams like that?'
Sasagawa reached over, clutching the phone from her nightstand. 'He's alive. He told me himself.'
She opened up the email that he'd sent her, a few days after the Tower of Babel's explosion. She knew its contents by heart. 'Miss, what's today's fortune?' Of course, it was only a sentence long. But it comforted her to read it.
It wasn't the only mail she'd gotten from Karigari since then. There were others, such as, "I'm headed on a trip overseas. If I'm to be faking my own death, I can't exactly be seen in Bayfront City for a while. Of course, I'll send plenty of pictures if you'd like, and l'll be watching the livestream of your fortune corner daily, even when it's the middle of the night where I am." All of them made her smile. But that was the one she'd always go back to.
Sasagawa fell asleep with the phone still in her hand.
Sasagawa had been in the office for a while. She'd filmed her morning Fortune Corner, her mind on Karigari the whole time, not on the script she was actually reading. She'd taken care of some other work as well.
'I guess there won't be any disaster today.' She was sitting down at her desk, staring off into space. It wasn't that she enjoyed disasters. In a way, it was relieving. But she did enjoy the chance to see Drive Head. That would always send a rush of excitement to her heart. Then maybe, she could take her mind off of a certain criminal.
Absently, she'd taken her phone out again. She never liked to look at her pictures from Karigari in public. Not when someone might see them and question them. But right now, no one was looking. And she had began skimming through them before she realized it anyway.
'This one is so pretty,' she thought to herself. It was a lake, taken from Canada. She scrolled through skyscrapers of Manhattan, bridges in Europe, all sorts of gorgeous architecture. She especially loved to look at the delicious foods. Well, a lot of it was steak, but it still made her mouth water.
'But Dr. Karigari isn't in any of these pictures.' The thought had crossed her mind before. Well, occasionally she got a glimpse at one of Karigari's hands (always the left one), or the sleeves of his shirt, or his subordinates feet. But neither Karigari nor his subordinates faces could be seen in any of the shots.
It made sense to her. He didn't want to leave any traces of his existence in Bayfront City. And maybe Sasagawa might lose her phone one day, and someone else would pick it up. Karigari did think everything through. But somehow, she couldn't convince herself that this was all to the story.
'Could they have been hurt?' She turned off her phone, her eyes shifting around the room. She couldn't concentrate on looking at photos anymore. 'They survived, but…' She could never quite get the image of that explosion out of her head. How did they survive?
She wasn't sure quite what they could be hiding. She tried not to think much of it. As long as they were alive, and happy somewhere… but…
Sasagawa decided to send a new mail to Karigari. She wasn't sure if she'd regret it later, or trouble him. But she needed to know the full truth.
'Dr. Karigari, next time, can you send me a picture with you in it?'
Karigari had just arrived at his hotel room in Italy, lugging two large suitcases through the door. He was about to look at his phone, hearing the beep indicating that a new mail had arrived. Naturally, they had to interrupt.
"Doctor, can you please let us out?"
"It's dark in here, and they can't unzipper from the inside."
"Even if they could unzipper, the locks would still stand in your way." Karigari scratched his head and undid the locks. He did feel a little sorry for them. He opened the suitcase containing Yusuke first, followed by Akira.
"Thanks, Doctor!" The both looked at him with adoring gazes.
"Don't forget. If the wrong people see you with your heads in the state that they are, it will cause a commotion. And that would be absolutely burdensome when we're here to enjoy a pleasant vacation."
"It would be more pleasant if you fix our heads," Yusuke said.
"I really wanted to try some good Italian pizza," Akira added.
"Enjoy it vicariously through me," said Karigari."You'll still get to sightsee. We just have to use the utmost caution as usual. Fortunately, few people will recognize you here, but forging IDs to check you into a hotel room is far unworthy of the effort."
Karigari thought of unpacking the clothing and other small items he'd also tucked into his bags, but remembered the e-mail just then. And he had a good feeling, or at least, a burning hope, that it was Miss who sent it.
When he saw her name in his inbox, for a moment, Karigari simply held the phone to his heart.
"Miss…" he sighed. She still wanted to talk to him after all. He couldn't help but think, one day, she'd just lose interest in him. Especially if he stayed away for months like he planned to. That day had yet to come.
When Karigari actually read her message, however, he frowned.
'Miss must suspect something.' The solution was easy. His brain was working instantaneously to find one. Telling her that it was too dangerous to take a picture would likely be enough to end the subject. But if she suspected something… perhaps it was for the best to satisfy her wish. Maybe if she saw what they had become, barely human anymore, then she would stop messaging him. In truth, a part of him dreaded that day more than anything. But a part of him wanted it. He fantasized of being with her, of the two living in a nice house somewhere, like a family, doing the sort of things couples did. Quiet date nights, snuggling together on the couch with a bad movie on… kissing. The last one had him flustered despite the fact that it was all in his head. But none of that could ever be. He couldn't give her that. He couldn't live a normal life, even before he looked like this. He was a wanted criminal. His life would always be one of hiding, of cautiously moving from place to place. Sasagawa was a celebrity. She could have anything she wanted. Any man she wanted. And she deserved that. She deserved the best sort of life. Not his.
Karigari snapped a photo that evening of he and his subordinates behind the Roman coliseum. He sent it to her, just as she'd requested. He couldn't help that nagging curiosity over what she really would think, seeing his metal limbs and mask over his left eye for the first time.
Sasagawa was grateful that she was at home when she opened the picture from Karigari. She'd gasped loudly and nearly dropped the phone, barely managing to catch it.
'Then... that was why.'
She'd zoomed in immediately on the mask Karigari wore. When she'd finished staring at it for longer than she planned, she looked at his hand. That was all she could see from the picture, but she couldn't stop wondering how much of his arm was made of metal, if perhaps there was more hidden beneath his clothing, across his chest, or down his legs.
As horrifying as it was, at the same time, she couldn't help but notice how intricate it all looked, the colorful details on his hand in particular. He'd clearly put a lot of thought into it. It was almost... cool? She tried to stop herself as soon as the thought came to mind. There was nothing 'cool' about what happened to him at all. But yet... she really couldn't help it. She found it strangely attractive.
Shaking her head, she shifted her focus to Yusuke and Akira instead. That simply filled her head with questions. How was it even possible?
'How are they alive?'
That was how she started her reply email. She considered after that she should probably start by responding to Karigari's picture. He was the one she asked about, and that was what caught her interest first. Just, she'd have to leave out the part about finding it attractive.
'Seeing this doesn't change anything. All it does is remind me of the amazing things you can do. By the way, how are they alive? Their heads... are TV monitors!
"Miss, you're too kind." Karigari's heart was racing as soon as he read her message. He began to type up a long and overly-technical reply to answer her question. Well, she'd asked, and he didn't underestimate her intelligence, even if it wasn't on his quite unreachable level.
Somehow, he knew, she wouldn't hate the way he looked after all.
The two had continued sending each other messages. Not long after, Karigari had received a lamenting one which made him smile. It was just like Miss.
'The Mobile Rescue Police launched a new Drive Head! It's called Master Backdraft. It's incredibly cool, but I missed it's debut rescue. T_T It's not fair! If they update Interceptor next, I have to see it. I'll never sleep again.'
'I knew that already,' Karigari replied. 'As I know everything. But I do place a particular effort into following the activities of my enemies. And do try and get some sleep, Miss. I have it on record that schematics for an updated Interceptor have yet to even be developed. You won't be seeing it any time soon.'
She didn't hear from Karigari every day. But one evening, Sasagawa sat on her bed, her phone beside her just in case, as well as her Cyclone Interceptor plush. (Cyclone Interceptor indeed hadn't been upgraded yet.)
She wanted to watch the finale of her favorite drama after 3 seasons. As long as there wasn't a sudden disaster which interrupted. That was another reason she needed her phone beside her anyway. But much as she loved to watch Drive Head, this was a really moving show. So romantic too. It kept her on the edge of her seat, week after week.
By the end of the episode, she wasn't sure whether to smile or cry. It ended with a wedding. A happy conclusion for the main couple.
'I want to get married.' Sasagawa couldn't help but imagine her in the bride's place, wearing a white dress, beside an amazing guy, happier than she'd ever been in her life.
The tune of the Wedding March distracted her from her fantasy. It was a TV commercial, she realized when she looked up.
"Are you getting married?" a male announcer's voice came from the TV. "Then come down to the Bayfront Inn and Catering. We're offering deals for the new season you'll fall in love with. Come on down for a tour today."
Sasagawa turned off the TV. Her head slumped down.
'Dr. Karigari would never want to get married,' she thought to herself. 'He's a criminal. Even if he came back to Bayfront City, he wouldn't want to settle down.'
She began to shake her head furiously.
'Why am I even thinking that? Someone like Dr. Karigari?' Sasagawa picked up her plushie and squeezed it to her chest. 'Cyclone Interceptor is so much cooler!'
Her eyes gravitated towards her phone. She supposed she wasn't going to hear from him tonight.