II - FOR THE ONE YOU LOVE (Doraemon Reimagination Series)

9 - TEAM IN TOPSY TURVY Part 3 - GIAN

The doors open and a tall figure walked in, dressed in a black overall tied with a brown belt in the waist. He had a black mask on with two broad red stripes, concealing his face underneath. He had a stoic demeanor about himself that was almost unusually intimidating.
         As soon as he entered the large room, the guards, wearing just a short petticoat on the lower half of their bodies and a head piece over their heads, immediately stood up. They paid their tributes to the masked person who just entered the room. The whole atmosphere suddenly emitted the vibes of an indistinct cult of the early historic ages.

"Your Grace!" one of them said. All four of the guards bowed their heads before him in curtsy, placing their palms on their chests. Gian flinched.
          He was standing at the farther end of the room with his hands and feet tied up. Two of those guards were restraining him and making sure he won't escape from the bindings. None of it made sense to Gian: the place, the guards, the masked figure, the way they were interacting with each other, the whole ambience, feeling like it's from some early 1700s movie. But one thing made sense to him. The fact that he was a captive and those people before him were his captors.

"Why did you bear the trouble of coming here by yourself, your Grace?"

The masked person did not respond.

On the other side, Gian was slowly beginning to doubt if they were in the right place or not, or if they had made a mistake figuring Cash's location somehow. 'Cause nothing adds up in any way and it feels like we have just landed ourselves into a new situation which has no relation to Shizuka and her whereabouts whatsoever.

"We would've brought the intruder to you, my Lord," added the second guard sincerely.

Gian glanced at them for just a second on hearing himself being addressed like that but then immediately looked away, continuing to ponder where he was and what has he and his friends mistakingly gotten themselves into.

The masked man finally spoke.
"Leave him with me. Go wait outside until you see me come out."

Gian flinched. That voice—

The guards bowed their heads in courtesy and obediently left the room as instructed.

"Close the door behind you."
"But your Grace, it's dangerous."

The masked man turned around and reassured them in a soft convincing time, "I'll be fine. I can take care of myself. Don't worry about me. Just keep watch outside, okay?"

The guards agreed and left the room: the masked man and gian alone in the large dimly lit room. Gian looked up, straight at the masked man; the masked man also facing him. He had an aggressive and rageful look in his eyes who spoke millions.

"It's you..." uttered Gian.

The masked man bent his head a little.

"So, we finally found you."

The masked man still didn't speak.

".....Cash–!"

The masked man looked down at the ground after a short wince. After a pause, he dramatically took off his mask, revealing his face to Gian.
          Laughing, Cash declared, "You are right. Guess I really can't fool the lot of you brats."

"I can never forget that voice," replied Gian angrily. "None of us can."

"HAHAHA! It's that charming!? You flatter me."

"No, it's that disgusting. Don't flatter yourself, old man."

"Watch yourself, brat. I'm not old!"

Getting tired of the pretentious chitchat, Gian determined himself to mean business and asked Cash with a serious demeanor, "Where did you keep Shizuka?"