Worth More Than a Sapphire

Chapter 3: An Unfortunate Realization

You collapsed onto your bed, and as soon as you were sure he was out of earshot from the thin walls, you groaned into your pillow. That was uncalled for. All of it. Pitifully, you raised your head from your pillow, resting your chin on the fabric. You scowled at nothing before raising all the way up, leaving your bedroom to stomp around the living area and kitchen.

    You'd met this guy two days ago, and you were catching feelings? C'mon, you barely knew him!  Of course, he'd sure made a solid impression. Aside from the silly outbursts and obsessing over his job, that is. It was such a simple gesture to keep you warm with his coat, and he didn't have to do it, but he did!

    Though, he was probably just being polite, so you really shouldn't get worked up over this. After all, you'd learned pretty quickly that he was a good guy. You'd never seen someone so quick to defend a man who... SEEMED to be ruining his life. It was like he saw the good in Lupin, and thought that finally locking him up would set him straight. You weren't so sure if that was the case yourself, but you weren't going to say anything about it. You wouldn't want to disappoint him. That is, if he would even entertain the idea for a second. After all, he seemed really, really stubborn.

    You stopped pacing long enough to realize just how antsy you were. Deciding a little tea would soothe you, you dug out the kettle from the cabinet, tucked away behind equally forgotten appliances. You filled it with water and set it on the stovetop, but unfortunately the menial labor did nothing to get your mind off of him. Why were you even thinking about this?

    Back when you were younger, you got crushes all the time over the simplest things. If anyone ever did something to help you out, you couldn't help but think of them for a week or two. Could this be a similar thing? Naturally, you'd outgrow something like that. You were an adult now. You knew better than to grow feelings for a man you barely knew.

    Sure, he was funny, strong, had a contagious smile and-- Point being, he had SOME things going for him, but each trait had a less than ideal one to balance it out. He had the capacity to be a gentleman, but he was loud. He was considerate enough to walk you home, but not considerate enough to leave you be. He must've been smart to some degree if he could keep up with a gang of world-class thieves, but... you weren't so sure.

    You thought about the different cases of his you'd read, specifically the rare batch that didn't involve Lupin.

    They were certainly few and far between, but they were wildly different from the usual reports. No mentions of last minute escapes, failed trapping attempts, none of it. He went in, caught the perpetrators like flies stuck in glue, and that was it. There were plenty of times when he'd knocked down multiple people bigger than him, and came out on top unscathed. It became clear that the main reason he was always getting rehired despite his constant failings was how he kept accidentally winning, arresting smaller, or even occasionally more threatening criminals.

    You couldn't help but think about how different he might be if it wasn't for the affable thief. Zenigata was quite transparently a laughing stock at times, but the men who worked under him still respected him, even though they saw him mess up again and again. Did they think he did it on purpose to give them a message about never giving up? Was he doing it on purpose?

    This was another excuse not to like him. You honestly didn't know a lot about him beyond what could be a facade. He might be putting on an act to lull you into a false sense of security, to get you to trust him enough to spill everything you know about crime around town. You frowned and leaned on the counter. While not outwardly malicious, it seemed too conniving to be his style. He was better than that.

    Wasn't he?

    You covered your face and let out a noise crossed between a muffled cry of anguish and a growl. This was torture. Why couldn't you just get over it? For crying out loud, you'd probably never see him again.

    You lifted your head, staring straight forward but not focusing on anything. Oh, that's right. You probably would never see him again.

    He was most likely used to it by now. It wasn't always just him and Lupin's gang in the reports. Sometimes there would be a local detective helping along, a woman caught in the action, a man who'd only briefly met him but couldn't deny his long-standing impression. They always had good things to say about him, hell, just going off their words, he almost appeared heroic. But he could never stay in one spot for too long. Zenigata was always on the move, always leaving people behind, not because he wanted to, but just because... He had to. Did he ever see them again, on repeat trips to such big cities? Did he ever visit?

    Your head was starting to hurt, your ears ringing. You gently rubbed your temples, easing up the headache, but the high-pitched ring persisted to your annoyance. Why wouldn't it just go-- Oh, your kettle. The water was ready.

    You reached for a cup, fully intent on forgetting and relaxing, when you heard a knock. Great. You closed your eyes, searching for the patience and strength to work your way to the door.

    Only to realize the noise wasn't coming from your door. The sound was too hollow, too sharp to be on wood. It also sounded much closer. You turned around, cup still in hand, to look out the window. Unfortunately, it was blocked.

    Even more unfortunately, it was blocked by Lupin.