Key To Lost Memories

-Chapter 17- Museum Crimes (3)

Key To Lost Memories -Chapter 17- Museum Crimes (3)

ITS. FINALLY. OVER. I. CAN. FINALLY. PUT. THIS.CRINGE.VERSION.TO
RESTTTT
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“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“You know… That weird, unexpected scenario where literally no one was there and only my friends, and that one co-worker knows about it like everyone forgot the day after?”
“We basically got sucked into another world… and a few others. Ever wonder why only a few attacked us? Or how the people weren’t bothered at all the next day? Want me to explain my hypothesis?”
“I mean… it does explain the sky—Ah! My money! I placed it at the cabinet!" He panicked.
"Well, you should've just stolen it instead of literally buying it by yourself... But, hey, at least you still have the bag and receipt! You brought it back to the real world." Ren sighed.
“…Then why were some of the buildings a bit destroyed? Uhm… Well, not anymore of course.”
“Hmm, some of the damage has blended in reality a bit, but only for a few hours. I guess no one outside realized anything different.”
“What?”
“I don’t know much about it, it’s just my hypothesis based on my own investigations… So… really don’t…”He mumbled the last sentence that Hiroko didn’t hear.
‘Right… As if it's just a “hypothesis” of yours who knows a lot about that thing… At least… for now, I don’t see those shadow things outside the dimension anymore. I thought they were just my hallucinations, but it might be connected. If I ignore them, they go away quickly anyways… But I don’t think it’s like that inside dimensions.’
“I guess, only a few others… or Kate and a co-worker… were the only ones who could remember, though we didn’t see that other guy anywhere…”
“So, only two other people you know remember, got it.”
‘Or that we were both delusional but that doesn’t explain why Ren, that guy, and Kate are so calm about it?’
"Why are we calling it a “scenario” though?”
“Cause it technically is. Look, we got into a dimension in that train and then went back into the real world a few hours after destroying that gem. The people with us… except your friends, apparently… were fake, and most of the shadows weren’t hostile, since what those shadows can do is either be a faceless shadow figure or can transform into random faceless people outside of dimensions. It’s called a dimension, another world from reality. Some of those shadows are also called distortions when it’s in a higher level… But I mostly just call them shadows.”
“Some shadows can be hostile towards other lower shadows, probably why those shadows ran away with us, but disappeared… after we left. Those people… who seemed to act weird at the end… that girl seems to know them, but why?”
‘I thought they were people whose memories have been wiped… Now they’re actually shadows in disguise…? How confusing…’
“…You seem to know what it was… that scenario…. Why can I make a small amount of fire on my fingertip? Oh, and my cat turned into a baby dragon… half-dragon…?” But… he couldn’t make a fire right now…
“…Okay, so… some of the things blended into reality. That girl… Miss Jones can’t summon that bow anymore, right? But with your small fire you can use it outside of dimensions… after using it to apparently, heat up your coffee once it’s cold, so yours has a limit.” Well, hot coffee in the morning is essential…
“…You know a lot about this, huh? So, are you used to going into these dimensions?”
“Pretty much? You’ll get used to it if you encounter one again. You still have your powers like you said, right? Think of it as how you are playing a popular game with the same plot. Besides, that one was easy, judging how it only took a few hours to clear.”
‘Easy?’
“Hmm… Yeah. Your right… Well, I’ll believe you for now… So, it’s like those “we can go to another world and fight monsters with cool powers and a talking animal companion…” That’s… cool…  Very confusing, though.”
‘What about the box information thing? Hmm, so the skill was fire, and that Eternal Rest guy after leaving the dimension is gone…’
“Hmm? I guess you could say that… you’ll figure it out if you experience it again. I don’t think I could explain everything about dimensions and labyrinths…. Now then, detective. Let’s continue with the investigation. Or are we spending time together for a different reason?”
‘Labyrinths? Never mind, I don’t want to experience it again… But why is he implying I might encounter one again?’
“Oh, yeah. The thief. We don’t need to check the security footage because of the black out. Plus, we already know his face. So, where do we start first?”
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“You…” Ren sighed as he rests his cheek on top of his hand, leaning his back against the wall.
“Really know how to surprise me.” He smiled, though it looked unsatisfied.
“Huh? it's just the mall. And I'm fairly sure that you were going to suggest it as well…”
“That’s true… But how are you going to find him in here?” Ren sighed.
“Just my intuition. He would probably try and give the gem to a jeweller who works with him in here.”
“Uh-huh.” At least he doesn’t seem sceptical about this…
“You said an investigation about that man’s identity is useless, correct? You do know something about him. Well, I remember you mentioning that he’ll go back to the scene of the crime even while his job is done.”
“…How about we go there at night where all the lights will be off? If a culprit will go back to the scene of the crime… then wont, we have the best chances at night?”
“Well alright…? Though more like you’ll have the better advantage if you want to hurt this guy… Is there a jeweller nearby here? Are you… just going to accept whatever I say?”
“We have all afternoon. I have a good feeling about this, as well.” Ren seems to be looking for someone, but Hiroko is also looking for the thief too… He saw a small flower bracelet from a stall on sale. Though he was mostly focused on the book on his hands.
‘No… I don’t need another book…’ He repeated to himself many times and placed it back where it belongs. Hiroko could’ve sworn someone was watching him from behind. Well, it’s just a man with red hair, who’s looking at the store, some people either staring at either Ren or Hiroko with blushing faces…
‘Of course… Since this criminal is tall, toned, and very handsome with sharp features and dark sapphire (or ocean, *I can’t choose) eyes.… Even more up close. Even I could tell during our first meeting in that alley despite it being dark... Reminds me of a picture-perfect model…’ Oh. And walking past the redhead with his head tilted down is… their target in a dark coat and a hat. Already saw his face…
‘Wow… so professional of you, thief… Wait a minute—’
“Oh, there he is.” Ren… doesn’t seem to be surprised at all…
Hiroko’s eyes widened. The man in a dark coat carrying a large bag spotted them and began to walk away faster.
“Hold it!” He ran towards him and went past the man with red hair and almost bumped into him with Ren following behind him.
“That was fast. You were right.”
“Well, I just thought he would be here, you know?”
“Really?” Ren replied.
“Well, not really…” They ran fast to catch him. The man in a dark coat pushed away another person and the man made a turn in the corridor. He looked back and Hiroko saw red eyes staring back at him.
“No way we’re losing this guy again…” They stopped for a bit; the corridor was a bit dark. No one was there except for a few people outside the corridor carrying bags.
“You go left, I go right, right?”
“Wright. Like that restaurant over there—Okay, see ya.” Ren went to the left corridor as Hiroko ran to the right.
‘Why do I trust that guy (too much…) again?’ Hiroko sighed.
“Ah.”
.
.
.
‘Well, all right then. He was right about me also about to suggest this location, he really surprised me.’ Ren thought. He went to the left and went downstairs to the parking area. The thief was planning to find a jewellery shop… Just like what Hiroko said earlier.
‘Last time, there was a secret room over there…’
‘…Huh. The door I discovered is gone. They probably got out of there, though.’ He went outside the mall from the car exit since the first-floor parking lot doesn’t have many walls, he went another spot he discovered. Somewhere near the alleyway… he’s starting to get why Hiroko dislikes alleys… he did mention that there was an underground labyrinth… but instead there are stairs that lead underground, with a wooden plank on the side near the stairs. There were no guards on sight.
“Hmm, it’s not a dimension, that’s for sure…” Ren placed his hand inside his pocket. Looks like someone was in a hurry to get there. If the thief went there… well…
Time to go in…
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When Hiroko went left, all he found was some Neo Elle jewel shop… or whatever it was called. So, he went down to the first floor.
‘Great. I lost him…’ It won’t hurt to ask the people around you, duh… He fidgeted on the sleeves of his brown coat.
“Excuse me, sorry to bother but… have you seen a man in a dark coat, with a hat and is carrying a black suitcase… and a pendant with this design?”
“No, but I had seen a man with a brooch like that… weeks or months ago… but that’s it.”
“Uhm, where?”
“Somewhere near a convenience store and that whole almost blown-up building accident…?”
‘Building almost blown up… Well, it’s not my case but I can help the police's investigation with that information.‘
“I see, thank you for answering…” Well, he didn’t expect that…
Of course, he asked a few more people and upstairs but no lead, just that they have seen him but don’t know where the thief went. He’s gone...
“Don’t tell me they actually are some kind of huge secret organization…” He murmured to himself. He’s doubting the ‘huge’ part, but he is suspecting that it might be an organization with how frequently he’s seeing that symbol, whether it's a brooch, or pendant… and with how random things and some crime are happening, random as in why did they show up after a while and the fact that whenever there’s a bombing incident it seems to be a distraction instead by how fast it seems to remove the bomb... It's probably also related to them, and that red head girl he saw with the same symbol. She doesn’t seem to be mad, but it feels like she’s sometimes watching at least one of them…
Someone with a brooch… near the same day that tall building almost got blown up, if it's near the convenience store, he bought that sandwich… Then it really was that tall building… in which the narrator forgot the name of and didn’t mention the building’s name… Ah, the blonde guy with the mask as well, basically forgot about him.
He walked around the mall and went to the parking lot.
‘There was a door in the parking lot… right? should I check on that again? What happened to those men there?’
“—Never mind…” He looked at the wall with no door on sight in confusion.
‘Let me retrace my steps and forget about that door for now. He disappeared out of our sight once he made a turn in that corridor… I went right, which just leads to that jewel shop. I don’t think he went in the jewel shop since it’s closed. And a security guard was there before I left… In fact, he already knew where to go even before he spotted us, but where?’
‘If he figured out that the jewel shop was closed… and the entire place is lit up so he couldn’t be hiding in the shadows… Can he even do that weird skill in the morning though? Staff rooms? The shops? The bathroom? No, we would’ve heard him open the doors… Then he would’ve went…left… to the back of the mall… which is outside.’
‘…Ren already knew where to find him, didn’t he…?’ Hiroko sighed. Well, time to go look for him, since it’s starting to get dark… and people are leaving the mall. He used the exit at the back as well, with the security guard standing on the entrance looking at the gate for some reason.
Luckily, he brought a flashlight from his inventory… He didn’t want to use his phone just in case….
His eyes looked around the place as he took a step forward to… Yeah, you guessed it. An alley… wow, how unexpected… Not interesting at all…
‘Stairs? Is this a restricted area? At least there’s no guards near here.’ Well, he sees a plank near the stairs, which was used to cover the stairs that lead underground probably… He looked around and saw no one going near and turned on his flashlight.
“Should I wait here, just in case that guy tries to escape? No, there might be other exits down there.” He went downstairs, with his flashlight lighting the way, onto the dark… place that luckily doesn’t smell like anything, and hopefully somehow that Ren is in here.
‘Do we have to go back to that museum? Isn’t it closed because of the thief? How will we even get inside the place? Or will the thief just wait outside for someone in the back or something?” Hiroko sighed.
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‘This place looks like dried up sewers… but unlike the sewers, it doesn’t smell horrible, in fact, I smell nothing.’ He walked around the underground… sewers. It doesn’t seem like a dimension.
‘Oh, look. There’s our target right over there.’ And gripping that suitcase for dear life… is the gem inside?
‘Looks like he figured out the jewel shop was closed. So, it really must be—' Ren swiftly grabbed his dagger and used it to block the bullet from hitting him.
“Where did you hide the gem? You should really give it back, you know?”
“You….!” He fired the gun again, with his right hand.
“A man of few words? No… Well, you are quite readable. Tell me, who was it that commanded you to steal the gem? Why would a jeweller ask someone to steal a gem from the museum?”
“Jeweller? Why would you think that?!” Ren dodged all the man’s attacks efficiently and minimal effort, while slashing his dagger at the bullets until the man ran out of it.
“Is that it? What happened to all that attitude yesterday?” Ren smiled.
“Don’t tell me you can’t use your powers anymore. I mean, there’s a lot of dark spaces here.” Ren continued. Weak during the day, as expected.
“So what? Where’s your pretty friend then?” The man tried to grab something from his pocket, but Ren tries to slash his hand, he managed to remove his hand on time, but with a small wound left on his hand. The man seemed swift on dodging his attacks, but weaker than before. Ren wasn’t even trying to kill him, so he had to hold back.
“A vampire?” Ren walked towards the dagger he threw at the man. Said man licked the blood from his hand, blood red eyes glaring at him with a fake grin as he bit his fingernail. Ren ruffled his hair gently. Looks like the vampire has a spare pendant, it looks more brand new than the one Hiroko took yesterday.
“Ugh, I haven’t drunk any blood for a while…” He heard the man swore under his breath and grabbed a sword from the floor, as he ran towards him. Well, that confirmed his suspicion of him being a vampire. 
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(*Almost forgot but Hiroko does have those dark Academia outfits and aesthetic, so, you can imagine the rest of his huge room and pretty outfits that I also want to wear-
Btw, most of the time, his uniform is the usual blouse-black tie, gloves & pants, & light brown coat combo with his badge, in the beginning I just made him wear a casual outfit (Not his best outfit, t-b-h…) because they were invited to something, and a thinner jacket on chapter 2 because it was really hot outside, but he still gets cold… for some reason.
Now, during outside of work or meeting someone else other than Ren, he usually wears elegant dark Academia clothing, or some cute casual clothing that matches well. I’m adding this because I don’t know if I’m going to describe all the characters outfits… or just describe the usual type of outfits they go for(in different chapters I guess).)