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"So," Touma said.
"So?" Noel asked, in the middle of gathering dishes.
"We have to find the rest of the Lupin Collection, don't we?"
"You've already begun to continue looking, you gave Keiichiro-kun-tachi a heart attack, non?"
"But not since then, not since..." Touma trailed off.
Not since they had settled back into more normal lives, Noel thought. He had been the one to poke around these days, completely understanding that Kairi and Umika had their own lives, and that Touma had his diner.
"Touma-kun, are you saying what I think you are?"
Touma gave him an unimpressed stare, which meant that Noel's guess was correct.
"Mi amor! Merci!"
"Y'know, you'd think that these things would be easier to get. Like, how'd this end up at a stadium?" Kairi mused, the four of them crowded in an alcove. "Also, who's even performing? Why do they have this?"
"Ako-chan! She's having a special anniversary concert!" Umika gushed.
"Who?"
Touma hushed the two before they could get too noisy. He was going to be the one to get the Collection Piece, Paradis, chaque fois qu'elle fermait les yeux , as the others were to be distractions, if needed.
"How is this important enough to this 'Ako-chan' to only be out during the concert, anyways?" Kairi asked in a quieter voice.
Touma frankly had the same question, but the Collection Piece in question (which was diamond shaped with a bird hanging out of it) was getting put in a glass case, the security honestly quite laughable for something supposedly so important. The four of them were waiting for the concert to start, that being their best bet to acquire it.
"Can't believe I'm 'borrowing' this from Ako-chan," Umika said, adjusting her hat.
Noel patted her shoulder. "We can return it later."
"Places," Touma said as the doors for the masses opened up, right on time.
Kairi and Umika silently flew to their places on opposite sides of the crowd. For all the people, the workers were remarkably efficient, getting everyone in with ease. Most fans gave the glass case a curious glance, but not much more. A few die-hard fans, mostly the older crowd, were exclaiming over it, though.
"Bonne chance, Touma-kun," Noel said once the crowd was safely inside.
Touma nodded as Noel made his way to the control room, putting on his mask.
The lights went off, just as planned, confusing some workers, none of them thinking to protect the glass case.
It was quick work to grab the Collection Piece, and a long wait for the other Lupins.
"Gosh, she was so good!" Umika exclaimed as she came out with Kairi, who looked bored.
"Yeah, yeah, my ears will never be the same, though."
Touma was glad that neither Kairi nor Umika were on this particular mission, Noel could tell. Probably because they were taking a Collection Piece from a lawyer, and Kairi would be hard pressed to not make comments about it.
“Plein d'extase et de feu?” Noel murmured, looking at the orange card carrying case looking Piece, stuck in a corner of a glass case full of trophies.
"We're waiting for the secretary to leave?" Touma confirmed.
"We won't have much time. His senses are sharp, better than the security Kitaoka-sensei has set warned, having spent the last week casing the joint. Goro-san's instincts were impressively amazing.
Touma nodded, pulling on his gloves.
Goro did leave, having given the area searching looks, the two went in, and the lawyer's house was one down one Collection Piece.
The next Collection Piece was requested and easily acquired, thankfully, considering that the Piece in question was kept by maybe the most annoying, self-righteous man Touma had ever met, and he had dealt with Asaka Keiichiro for an entire year.
(It didn't help that Noel had apparently met him before, and clearly had had a crush on him.)
Noel got the two Pieces held at the train station on his own, both of them Cards. One was À maintes reprises and the other C'est ma propre conception, c'est mes propres remords , similar but not quite the same in the powers they held. He shuddered to think of what would have happened if a Ganglar had gotten their hands on one -- or God forbid, both.
Touma sort of knew what Noel was talking about with the Sutou siblings, but the conversation was moving in rapid-fire French and wasn't that interesting.
"You run a diner, Touma-kun?" Renn asked, dealing out cards for him, Touma, and Saki.
"Yes, I've heard that Saki-san runs the cake shop nearby."
Saki looked pleased. "I do, much better than my government job. Now Touma-kun, you're so serious! Smile, smile!"
Touma tried not to grimace at that.
"Yes, we got it because it looks just like our henshin devices," Miu said in French, making Touma raise an eyebrow.
"Oh? Ooh la la!" Noel responded.
"Do you understand French, Touma-kun?"
Renn smiled slightly, offering his card hand to Saki, who took one and discarded a pair to the middle. "It looks like you understand more than me."
"What makes you say that?"
"Just! You responded to something Miu said."
Touma didn't respond to that, instead accepting the fact he was playing Old Maid, of all things, with his senior Sentai members.
"That's definitely it," Noel said once they left. Touma didn't say anything, instead handing Noel the pink Rocket henshin-looking device.
"Touma-kun! When did you get this?" Noel sounded delighted.
"After I lost a round of Old Maid."
Noel threw his arms around Touma, kissing his cheeks and then lips. Touma kissed back for a bit, then detached the French man, letting Noel hang off him instead.
"Merci, Touma-kun."
"This museum has three Pieces of the Collection: a gun, a Medal, and a Ring," Noel informed the others.
"You know, I think Wajima-san wanted to check out the Ring," Kairi offered. "Cause he works with them."
"...is that relevant information?" Touma asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Kairi shrugged. "Just something I remembered."
"Well, Kairi-kun, you can get the Ring, then, it'll probably look similar. Umika-chan, you're looking for a Medal, about this big." Noel indicated with his hands.
Umika nodded. "Sounds kind of what Izumi-sensei talked about on the phone with her friend that one time."
Noel blinked. He knew that the Collection tended to look like the henshin devices of the Heroes of Japan, but this was getting a tad absurd.
"Well, that leaves Touma-kun and I to get the gun."
Kairi gagged, making Umika swat his arm.
"Like I didn't catch you kissing Keiichiro at the park!" she scolded.
"Stop." Touma's voice held more than a hint of threat.
Kairi shut up.
With the four of them, it was easy to grab what was needed, speeding away in their mecha.
"Just an FYI, I think we might have to expect the Patrangers this time," Kairi announced in a hushed whisper.
"What makes you say that?" Touma did know that Kairi didn't spill the beans to everything the Lupins did to his damn boyfriend, but it was always irritating to deal with them.
"Cause one. We got away with the history museum; two, Noel isn't here; three, Keii-chan mentioned about being on patrol for museums for the next few weeks or so."
Touma sighed, catching sight of Noel's "undercover" officer outfit.
"Should we come back?" Umika asked.
"No. Tomorrow they're switching out the exhibits, we can't risk them being put in storage."
"What are we looking for, again?" Kairi pretended to be interested in the dinosaur exhibit.
"A USB type, a Switch, and a Bottle."
...it certainly could have gone smoother, Touma thought once they were out, considering Kairi showing off for his boyfriend, Umika trying to avoid her girlfriend, and Sakuya all around being annoying.
At least Noel had helped.
Noel sometimes forgot how varied Sentai teams could be. But at least the Green Samurai was completely fine with Noel asking if he could help him win tickets for a prize.
(How it ended up at an arcade, and what a Samurai was doing at the arcade, Noel wasn't sure those questions had answers he was ready to hear.)
Breaking into a station was extremely satisfying in Touma's eyes. Ceux qui sont morts sont justifiés came in the form of a tiny toy car, only identifiable among the others via Noel's scanner. Touma didn't waste time talking with the belt, who only detected him after Touma had nabbed the Collection Piece.
"We're very close to finishing the Collection, mi amor," Noel told Touma, the two of them putting their newest find in the Book. Noel's eyes were bright in the light of the setting sun. "We only have two more to collect."
Touma put his arm around Noel, dropping a kiss on his head.
"We'll find and retrieve them for you."