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"Now, please move very carefully. You musn't forget, your body is one with an enormous machi-"
Karigari fell backwards, barely catching himself against the Viper walls. As a genius, he knew from the start he shouldn't have even bothered with a warning.
"This is so cool!" Sasagawa swung her arms back and forth, in the process causing the colorful Drive Head to thrash around.
"Yes, and quite dangerous," said Karigari. "Maybe this is why Kurumada found flaws in my system. I never imagined him to possess foresight, but that explains so much."
"I'm sorry, Dr. Karigari." Sasagawa turned to face him, her face a bright shade of red. "But… it really is cool! I finally get to drive a Drive Head!"
If looks could kill, Karigari would have been dead on the spot. That was just how endearing she looked. He was far too weak when it came to Miss. Perhaps the fact that he started to blush and stutter every time he came near her, especially in helping fit her into the gear for the Hyper Master Slave system, was the reason she didn't quite understand what she was doing. That or the fact that she was a die-hard Drive Head fangirl who was having the time of her life. Probably both. In any case, he didn't regret inviting her over to help test his new system modifications. Not even after she put her arms around him in excitement, causing the Drive Head to fall backwards and actually collide with the wall of his latest hideout, causing shards of cement to crumble..
"Uh… umm… please forgive me, Dr. Karigari." Sasagawa's eyes were trembling as she looked to him. She knew she had been getting over-excited, and when she had been given such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This was probably the end of it.
"Miss…" Karigari shook his head. "Please don't be dismayed. The wall is an easy enough fix. I may even be abandoning this hideout for a far superior one once that one is complete. The only trouble may be pulling the shrapnels out of my subordinate's heads, who insist on standing too close to a test site."
"There aren't any shrapnels!" Akira exclaimed, feeling at his head.
"And you could've let us in the Drive Head," said Yusuke. "It's a four-seater."
"Miss needs all the space she can get," Karigari replied. "And there likely will be shrapnels soon when the entire hideout collapses, so you'd be wise to keep a safe distance." He knew he was talking to walls, but he had to at least try.
Karigari turned to Sasagawa, who was clenching and unclenching her fist, which was mimicked by the Drive Head.
"I thought I'd start with something slower. But I really wanted to try flying next. After all, your Drive Head is like Sonic Interceptor with a permanent Jet Burnern!"
"Only one arm is from Sonic Interceptor. It's more like White Hope, or even Rescue Backdraft," Karigari argued. "But I do see what you mean." He paused. "And the answer is no. I will have you flying eventually, but please practice walking first. Be very careful of your surroundings. The amount of surgery I'll have to do on my subordinates if you step on them, flattening them to pancakes, may even outdo the time I restored their severed heads."
"I will!" said Sasagawa, smiling at him. She started to take a few steps, slowly and while thoroughly watching through the Drive Head's cameras. At least Karigari didn't have a lot of stuff in his hideout, which made it easier to avoid obstacles. She was well aware the only thing he wanted her to avoid crushing more than his subordinates was his TV, because he watched her Fortune Corner per ritual.
"Am I doing alright?" she asked, after making a few circles around. "It's harder than it looks, because the Drive Head is so bulky."
"Just fine," said Karigari. "I knew you'd be a pro, once you actually took it slow. Still…" he saw the glimmer in her eye. "No flying just yet. Certainly not indoors, or you'll cause a massive avalanche when the Drive Head blasts through my hideout roof. Then I'll certainly have to abandon this hideout sooner than planned."
"Alright." She slumped down onto the floor, the Drive Head dropping with her. Fortunately, she didn't cause an earthquake, but was still quite flustered.
Sasagawa took off the gloves, and started undoing the gear. "Maybe it would be easier to Drive Cyclone Interceptor," she said.
Karigari sighed, and took a seat on the floor next to her. He knew she would love that opportunity, but there were a number of reasons why it simply was a bad idea, not even counting his disdain for Kurumada's work, which was somewhat alleviated knowing the Force Field Mode made Cyclone Interceptor at least a large percentage his.
"It simply wouldn't work, Miss."
"Why is that?" She breathed a sigh of relief when her inching up closer to Karigari did not cause the Drive Head to move this time.
"You couldn't manage the driving system," said Karigari. "Rather, even I probably couldn't, much as I hate to admit it. This may count as top secret, highly classified and monumental information, but the Drive Heads used by the Mobile Rescue Police can only be controlled properly by one who is pure. Although I am pure genius, so that should qualify me."
"You don't think I'm pure?" Sasagawa's cheeks puffed up in indignation.
"Sadly Miss, it appears no one over a certain age is truly pure anymore."
Sasagawa sighed. "I guess the handsome 20-year-old driver of Interceptor is still full of youthful ideals and passion. That's always how I imagined him to be, actually. But he can be a real gentleman when it matters. And he's well-built from how much he works out, because of how earnest and responsible he is. He needs to be strong to protect the people of Bayfront City!"
Karigari tried to imagine Gou Kurumada as a buff 20-year-old, and immediately wanted to erase the image from his mind. He was starting to look more like his father too, which made it more bothersome.
"Yes, I'm sure that's exactly right," he said, regardless. He knew he probably shouldn't reveal the truth about the identity of Cyclone's driver so casually. He did have a professional respect for his enemies to uphold.
"Hmm…" Sasagawa looked to Karigari. "I suppose I do have impure thoughts at times." Not just concerning Interceptor. Sasagawa still wondered the whole time why Karigari invited her to test his Drive Head. He could have easily done it himself, or used one of his subordinates. Sure, he knew she loved Drive Head, but that didn't mean she had any idea how to properly drive one, and her brief toying with the Hyper Master Slave system proved it. She wished that maybe, just maybe, he invited her for her alone. So the two could be together in a small enclosed space, without even Karigari's subordinates there this time. And if that were the case… did he expect her to take advantage of that? Impure thoughts indeed.
Still, Sasagawa decided to inch just a bit closer. So close that her legs brushed against his.
Karigari swallowed, his chest suddenly tight with nervousness. What was she doing? Surely that was accidental. The floor of the Viper, while adjusted somewhat to give room for the driver to move, wasn't that big a spot. Yes, it had to be an accident. But he hoped she didn't try and move away. Rough as his breathing had become, it was a rush being so near to her, a woman whom he couldn't deny he had impure thoughts of himself, much as he tried to push those away.
Sasagawa felt a bit daring. Perhaps it was the rush of getting to drive a Drive Head, if only briefly. And she'd hugged Karigari before without thinking about it, when she accidentally damaged the walls. It wasn't as if it were a new thing for them to simply touch. She reached over, grabbing at his shoulder, lifting herself closer to his face.
If only there weren't a sudden crash, causing her to pull backwards, looking immediately back and forth to hopefully find the source of it.
Karigari was still in something of a state of shock. Was Miss about to…
He had to shake the notion away. He must have been hallucinating. That was it. And besides, there was that horrible crash. Something else to focus his genius mind on.
"I'm certain it came from outside, Miss."
"Oh… I guess you're right." She was relieved that Karigari had changed the subject for her. What was she thinking, even? He couldn't actually see her that way. He was just a fan, the same way that she was a fan of Drive Head. Which diverted her thoughts to something else. "Then, it must be an incident. That means Team Drive Head will be coming!"
"Yes, after Saionji gets over his ego and approves a launch, they'll slowly crawl their way here, if and only if this is a big enough disaster for the suffering local fire departments to not be able to handle on their own and request their help. Otherwise, they'll remain blissfully unaware to the fact that it ever happened. Kurumada never did use his foresight for the right purposes."
"But someone could be badly hurt!" Sasagawa replied. "What if a building collapsed, and lots of people were crushed under the rubble? Or a power line exploded and a massive fire is spreading around us as we speak! Team Drive Head has to hurry!"
Karigari held up his pointer finger.
"Team Drive Head doesn't even have to come."
"What do you mean?" Sasagawa stared at him blankly.
"Miss, I know better than to build my hideouts in populated districts. The crisis can't be nearly as severe as you're imagining right now. But even if it is, we have a Drive Head right here. And you're going to drive it." He grinned. Karigari had full confidence in her. And if need be, he was right inside with her, equipped with his genius brain to provide assistance.
"Me?!" Sasagawa blinked at him, her face in a full state of disbelief. "Th-then… does that mean I get to fly?"
"How else will you swoop down to the rescue?" Karigari replied. "But we'll take the Drive Head out of my hideout via elevator, because I'd prefer to keep my roof from caving in."
"Good, it seems perfectly vacant out here," Karigari mused out loud. "I may not need a replacement hideout after all."
"How am I supposed to fly?" Sasagawa asked. Now, she was standing on top of the hideout, which also gave her a better view of her surroundings. And along with that, an answer to what had caused the crash.
"Dr. Karigari, over there!"
He saw it too. The sight of a truck which had apparently driven through the walls of a building, and was now lodged inside.
"Looks like someone had a little too much to drink," said Karigari. "As for flying, you can activate the jets with this switch. Allow me, and focus on keeping the machine steady."
"A… alright," said Sasagawa. She was hesitating already, not because she found Karigari's command difficult, but out of worry for whoever might have been driving that truck. Or been inside of that building. At least it was still standing, but for how long? "If only your Drive Head had an Inject Gun. We could use it to reinforce the building."
"I made my Drive Head out of the scrap parts I received," Karigari replied, as they rushed down to the scene. "The Inject Gun was unfortunately sold separately."
As they got closer, Sasagawa could distinctly hear the sounds of a horn beeping. "He must be calling for help!" she exclaimed. "He's still alive."
"But evidently, the driver is trapped in his car. Otherwise what would be stopping him from coming out, and leaving through the back door? I know this warehouse quite well, given that I always scope out the locations before building a hideout. No one should be there at this time, meaning there likely was only one victim." He was admittedly suspicious about why the truck driver was there in the first place, and his theory about the man being drunk was only one of many possibilities. But he hoped his guess was right in this case, and it wasn't some irritating spy from the Mobile Rescue Police coming to find his hideout. And it was true the man was foolish enough to be a part of that organization, if he'd driven himself into a building.
"Hmm…" Sasagawa stared at the building, and the back portion of the truck. "I know! If we had Cyclone Interceptor's Force Field Mode, we could charge in at light speed, pulling him out before even the tiniest shard of the building had a chance to fall."
"The Force Field Mode doesn't give Cyclone Interceptor the ability to move at light speed, Miss," said Karigari. Though, that sounded like an interesting idea for the next time he decided to 'borrow' the frame. "But you're right, it would be practical to use the force field to deflect the sections of building that obviously will collapse if the vehicle is moved. I hope you have a plan C."
"Not really." Sasagawa looked down. She honestly couldn't think of anything that didn't rely on the help of Team Drive Head. It was true, Karigari's Drive Head didn't have an ounce of rescue equipment on it, but there had to be something she could do.
"I'll give you a hint," said Karigari. "As I had a plan A as soon as I saw the offending truck, which didn't require Team Drive Head's involvement at all. We won't be needing them today." He smiled, quite satisfied with the thought. "We can enter through a different way."
"The roof?" Sasagawa wondered.
"I was thinking the back door, in which case I would have to pick the lock, so the roof would work faster," said Karigari. He quite liked Sasagawa's idea though. Not an ounce of delicacy to it, but the building wasn't likely to survive much longer anyway.
"Fly me up!" Sasagawa was grinning, the plan already set in her mind. Karigari couldn't help but feel thrilled himself. If she was having a good time, so was he.
Sasagawa punched a large hole through the roof, becoming flustered in the process by how much power she used. But, the tiles that fell landed far away enough from the truck, and there was plenty of room to land the Drive Head down.
"I'm here to rescue you!" Sasagawa called.
"Rescue? Y-you're a Drive Head!" A crackly voice came from within the truck.
"Right," she said. "Go rescue!"
She posed in front of the truck dramatically, only holding it for a moment before realizing she was wasting precious time. The side of the truck was indeed crushed, making it impossible to open the door from the inside. But with a Drive Head, with the power she knew it had from smashing through the roof, the door could come off easily.
"As soon as I remove the door, just run!" said Sasagawa. "You can go out the back door of the warehouse."
"Wh-what're you saying?! You gonna destroy my truck?!"
"It's… already pretty destroyed," said Sasagawa, who proceeded to rip off the door. "Now go! This building could collapse at any time."
Although the man hobbled out of the car, he fell to his knees just a few steps later.
"I… I can't do it! Not without my truck!"
"You should have thought of that before crashing it," said Karigari. "Miss, you'll have to scoop him into your hands and carry the buffoon. Just be sure to keep your hands cupped together at all times, or you'll drop him to the ground, leaving him with only a multitude of broken bones if this is his lucky day. And if his fortune was grim this morning…" He shook his head.
"I'll be careful," said Sasagawa. Well, she hoped she could manage anyway, but best not to frighten the poor man any further. Drive Heads were supposed to make the people they were rescuing feel safe. Though, she wondered if perhaps she should ask about his sign.
Per a stroke of good fortune, or at least delicacy, Sasagawa successfully carried him out of the building. She kneeled to the ground, giving him the chance to climb off, which he did immediately.
"Rescue complete!" Sasagawa declared.
"Whadoya mean complete?!" The man did not look happy. "Whose gonna rescue my truck?!"
"Sorry about that," said Sasagawa. She certainly hadn't thought of a plan to liberate the truck in one piece… well, it was two pieces already, and she didn't think it really mattered compared to the man's life. "Maybe when Cyclone Interceptor gets here."
"Cyclone Interceptor?" The man questioned. "Yeah, where is that one? What kinda weird Drive Head are you? And where's Announcer Sasagawa? She's always there when the Drive Heads rescue someone, and she's so pretty! I was hopin' to see her waiting outside!"
"Umm…" Sasagawa wasn't sure whether to be flattered or disturbed. She hadn't turned around towards Karigari, who was firmly leaning towards the latter, steam rising from the top of his head. "I am Announcer Sasagawa! This was my very first rescue!"
"Y-ya gotta be kidding me!" The man's mouth was left hung open. "This isn't how it's supposed to be! Give me a pretty lady and give me back my truck!" He ran towards his truck, and collapsed behind it in a heap on the floor, sobbing.
"Well, now's a good time to return to the hideout. He's too distracted to even notice." Karigari turned on the jets once more and flew back.
"That was impressive Miss," said Karigari, as he watched her take off the equipment immediately. He could tell that she looked tired, which made sense as it was her first time using the system, and he hadn't factored in her doing a rescue.
"Thank you," she replied. "It was fun. But I wanted to see Team Drive Head come and save the day. Do you think they're going to come and save his truck?!"
"Who needs Team Drive Head when they have you? Even that poor drunk was a fan." He was still holding onto his theory for now, but research would be done later on the odd occurrence, just to be on the safe side.
"I think I'll leave the rescuing to them from now on," she said. "At least not until I can practice a lot more." She smiled at him. "But I want you to rescue me if I get into trouble. You're my hero, after all."
Karigari did his best not to flinch away, despite feeling like his face was lit on fire. "Today, you were the hero, Miss. And heroes deserve to be rewarded. I could make a nice steak dinner for you, or buy you that rare gold-plated Cyclone Interceptor figure, or…"
Even the bizarre distraction the two had just dealt with couldn't erase from his mind the anticipation. Was he right about what Miss has been trying to do before?
"I believe there is that traditional reward for the hero, if the movies are to be believed. I've seen it too in old video games when the hero rescues the princess." His voice was turning to a mumble as he finished his thoughts. In truth, he wanted the warehouse to suddenly collapse on him for bringing that up. For a genius, he should have known when to keep his mouth shut. But he couldn't help it. He knew he was right about what she'd been attempting. The Number One Genius Scientist in Space was always right.
"Oh!" Sasagawa found her own chest tightening this time. But more than nerves, it was visibly clear that she was bursting with excitement. She lifted her head, gazing into his eyes once more. "A traditional reward sounds just fine."
It was only as she leaned in closer, she wondered whether Karigari would pull away. If he'd misinterpret, purposely or otherwise, and think she wanted the steak dinner. After all, he hadn't said in so many words what she thought he meant.
Her fears were for nothing. Because Karigari shook away his own fears then and there. His hero wanted him, as much as he wanted her. As he tasted her sweet lips for the first time, a sensation he thought could only happen in his dreams (and he wasn't quite convinced he wasn't dreaming now), he hoped the moment would never come to an end.
She too felt completely entranced from the moment their lips met. Her hero, criminal though he was, wanted her and her alone. Were her desires really so impure? She wasn't sure anymore, when nothing had ever felt more right to Sasagawa.