"I bring my radiance to you, tonight." (Mayakuro)

Chapter 13: Bear Consequences

"Karen-chan, would you let me go already?!" Claudine scolded the red-head who was clinging to her leg with Hikari and Mahiru watching the two, laughing. They instructed Claudine to go to Karen's house, knowing her address came in handy to meet up with Kagayaku Shiro.

"Kuro-chan, please help Maya." Karen begged, looking at Claudine with so much pressure.

"Now, now, Karen-chan, she can't help Maya if you keep doing that." Mahiru finally pulled the sticky Karen away, pushing the stoic Hikari out of the door where the exasperated Claudine was waiting.

"Be careful, okay? Don't use too many explosives again." Mahiru told the stoic mechanic who just nodded at her girlfriend and smiled as she waves bye to the two officers. Claudine enters her car, waiting for Hikari to enter. As the two drove away to Nana's apartment, Hikari drove leaving a suspicious Claudine in the passenger seat.

"Will you now tell me, what do you mean by stealing Maya in your weird phone call?"

"It's exactly what it is. We're stealing Maya tonight before she practically dies." Again, Hikari just stoically said, even mentioning Maya's death isn't something you should stay stoic about.

"And how are we going to do that?"

"Nana can explain it later."

____

The cold air of the night sent shivers through Claudine as she covers her exposed legs from the two masked thieves in front of her. She was inside of Nana's apartment, after receiving the stoic phone call of Hikari.

"Why do I have to wear a skirt?!" Claudine blushed as the two men, or actually, women, gazing at her.

"Though Maya-chan's suit will fit you, we cannot use something Tengoku wore out in the public. The guards would recognize it immediately, which will cause us more trouble. And the only pre-made suit we made is paired with a short skirt. It was supposedly my costume, but Maya changed her mind and told me to dress up as a man." Kagayaku Kaeru said, smiling sweetly at the embarrassed detective. Kagayaku Shiro on the other hand just stoically nodded at the banana girl's statement.

"Maya-chan?" Claudine was surprised at the honorific used to address Maya.

"Oh, we forgot to introduce ourselves! Both of us are actually Maya-chan's high school friends. I'm Daiba Nana and this is Kagura Hikari. I'm pretty sure giving you our full names won't result in our arrest, right?"

"That sounded like a threat."

"It is a threat, though?" Nana smiled very brightly, tilting her head at the blonde detective. She looked at Hikari, who just shrugged and shot her a look of 'that's normal'. Now Claudine can understand why Maya is friends with these two.

"Wait, Daiba-san, do you know Junna-chan?" Nana blinked, then blushed, but still answered Claudine's question.

"Yeah. And Hikari-chan and Karen-chan are actually roommates. Though Hikari-chan is dating Tsuyuzaki-san." Claudine coughed out loud, so the other officers are actually pretty close with their assigned thieves.

"Banana, Saijo-san, we have to go soon. Once Maya exits through the door, Saijo-san will drop in and get her out of there. Banana, cause some major distraction for the guards while I take care of their security measures here."

____

The admiral enters the grand hall of the Tendo's residence with General Tendo Yuichi walking beside him; they were walking towards the general's office where Maya was waiting, handcuffed and sleepless. The morning has risen and the former major cannot sleep in that cold, dusty, and narrow cell while thinking of Claudine. Dozens of men were present; some were wearing uniforms with gold badges on their chest, some were wearing black suits, a sign that they were the guards that swarm the Tendo's property.

The two poised men entered the elegantly decorated room and saw the handcuffed Maya sitting on one of the wooden chairs, her shirt stained with still fresh blood. Her wound hasn't closed yet, even after Maya tore her shirt to wrap it as a bandage.

"Tendo Maya-san, are you alright?" The tall admiral asked. The entire police force also knew as the 'The Giraffe'. He looked at the bloody cloth on the brunette's hand before giving the general understandable look. No words were said, yet General Tendo nodded immediately and ordered for Maya to be taken out of the office and be taken care of.

Though she is now an accused criminal, Maya is still a Tendo respected by the workers who were under her father. The guards still gave her a decent time to take care of herself and even sent a medic to tend to her reopened wounds, took a bath, and change into a given maroon tuxedo. She still ate an entire box of Baum kuchen, apparently, she hasn't had anything yet since yesterday because of her nervousness and drank high-quality tea served by a butler.

Maya thanked every single of them with full gratitude. These people had been with her since she was a child, while her mother and father disagreed about Maya's future. Her father wants her to take over and be the next general, while her mother wants Maya to find a rich suitor and continue her dance performances.

"You can't give me son so Maya would have to do it."

"Maya is a girl! She needs to do more feminine things, not going out and shooting with a gun."

Of course, the old man's wish is what Maya followed, not wanting to marry a random guy just because he came from an affluent family.

They tightened the metal cuffs on her wrists as they escorted her back to the general's office in a better fitting state. The big wooden doors were opened, revealing a cold General and a calm admiral sitting and waiting for Maya to come in.

"I'm glad your wounds are tended to. Now then, let us get to the main agenda. Tendo-san, is there a reason why did you decide to become a gentleman thief under the name of Kagayaku Tengoku?" A few seconds pass by and Maya stayed quiet, not wanting to answer the admiral's question.

"Maya, speak. Where did you learn such disrespectful behavior?"

"It's alright, General Tendo. Then let me rephrase my question. Did you become Tengoku for the sake of meeting someone? Perhaps someone like Saijo-san would be ideal for you." Maya took a stung of breath at the mention of the detective's name. The admiral correctly guessed and revealed her only motive in front of her.

"Yes. Claudine is someone who possesses things I yearn for. Her passion and determination in everything she does made me continue to steal as Tengoku."

"You will be executed tonight, Tendo-san. Is there anything you would like to do before the time comes?"

"Will you let me meet Claudine for the last time?"

"Maya, what kind of-." General Yuichi widens his eyes at the gesture of the admiral's hand, making him stop his statement.

"I understand."

____

Claudine quietly runs and moves through the town by jumping on multiple roofs as the wind blew against her skin. She wore a navy blue coat, under was a royal blue vest with gold buttons sewn into it, the same color as the lace mask she was wearing. She also wore a white skirt with knee-high socks with black boots. To be honest, Claudine really likes the costume. The only downside was Claudine needs to go up in the air, which will give the people on the ground a good view under her skirt.

Nana drops with her on the ground, knocking out the two guards on the rooftop.

"Saijo-san, are you sure you are willing to do this? This may cause a lot of things in the long run." Nana asked as she prepares a few small explosives for later with Hikari on the background instructing how to use it.

"I am absolutely sure about my choice. It's a huge risk I'm willing to take." Claudine tucked in Étincelle de Fierté on her waist, just in case she needed to use it against the guards. And cocked her gun, ready to shoot anyone.

"Then, are you ready to steal tonight, Kuro-chan?" Nana smiled at the use of the nickname and the detective remembered a certain Karen who was begging her to bail out Maya.

"I guess stealing Tendo Maya for my first heist, isn't a bad idea."