They Fight Crime. (Thoma - Jess)

[Thoma Hirako]

He didn't entirely mind her asking him the question. He wasn't surprised by it, what he was surprised by was his lack of a proper answer for her. He needed to take care of that man, no matter what, and couldn't bother to think of anything more than Yuka's death, and that he had to have some information.

Right now, that's all that drove him. Thoughts of Yuka.

[Jessica Jane]

Jessica returned after a few moments, having washed as best she could. It did feel nice to be semi-clean and in good clothes once again. She exited into the main room and forced a smile for her companion.

"There we go... You lead, I'll follow." It was about all she could think of to say. "And, uh... thanks again."

[Thoma Hirako]

He looked over as she came out, nodding in approval, and then stating, "Let's go, then." He offered his arm to her, "I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself, we can discuss business as we dine."

[Jessica Jane]

"Sounds good to me." Jess answered. She looked at his arm for a long moment, trying to work up the courage to actually follow through on his gesture. Afterward, she managed to extend her arm and link it through his.

It felt really strange to be this close to someone... but she tried not to dwell on that fact. What she did end up dwelling on was the fact that, uh, she now had nothing to discuss. Try as she might, the only neutral topic that she could come up with was: "Uh... Lovely weather we're having, isn't it?" Awkward.

[Thoma Hirako]

He didn't seem to notice the awkwardness of her question. Well, he did, but he didn't show anything about it. He simply nodded as he led her out, "Yes, very nice as of late."

If he had anything to do with it, it would become a storm. For at least one man in particular. But Thoma kept that thought to himself, trying not to show his feelings, trying to remain happy, rather than twisted with anger. The anger that consumed him night and day, which he kept locked up to himself.

He figured he should say something. "It won't take long to arrive," he told Jessica, "A few minutes walk."

[Jessica Jane]

"Okay." She responded slowly, scrabbling for something else to say. There was really only one thing she could think of to say next. Unfortunately, it was the same tactic that Jess had already been falling back on... she was probably starting to sound like a broken record. "After seeing all this, I'm starting to wonder if I should go for being a Dekaranger... The job seems to have more than enough perks."

[Thoma Hirako]

When she said that, he laughed a little. Not at her, but at the thought of a Dekaranger having this man...perks. Granted, he was a Dekaranger - technically - and he did have a lot of perks, so to speak, so it seemed a valid question.

"Dekarangers don't get perks like these," he said, "Only me, because I know how to get things like this done. A normal Dekaranger wouldn't have a life like I do."

[Jessica Jane]

Ignore the red flag, be polite. For a brief moment, Jessica allowed herself to think that she was starting to make some headway on not alienating Thoma.

"Heh, well, you better not broadcast that too much." She decided to try and keep the conversation going. "You'll ruin the illusion for everyone else."

[Thoma Hirako]

The illusion? A glorified police officer living an extremely high life? Of course that was an illusion, but would too many people really think that this is what a Dekaranger's life would be like?

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm good with...illusions," he said, referring to his past as a thief and conman.

[Jessica Jane]

Okay, now something like that was just begging to be inquired about. But Jess was starting to get this figured out; she had to be roundabout to get any information with Thoma.

She continued: "Really? What are you, a magician or something?"

[Thoma Hirako]

"Thief; conman."

He outright said it. He didn't care if she knew a lot of the details, or none of the details. It didn't really matter to him, so why not just say it?

"Well, less illusion, more diversion, I guess."

[Jessica Jane]

"Whoa, wait." That one couldn't be ignored. "You're a thief?"

Why a conman would admit to being a conman, she couldn't fathom. That went against all the rules of the game. But if she'd already told him that anything illegal wasn't in her agenda, Jess fully intended to make good on that promise.

And a good chunk of that promise was making sure that she wasn't being lied to. Cons ran off of deception, which Thoma had just admitted to. She was going to have to make certain that she wasn't being taken for a ride on this one.

"So are you really a Deka?" Jess' features turned stern. "Or was that just a ploy?"

[Thoma Hirako]

"I was a conman and thief," he assured her, trying to keep everything straight, it would make things easier in the long run, "I really am a Deka. I've reformed; I can tell you that story too, if you want to hear it. I'm sure you might, before you decide to help me or not. Unless you take my word and that's all you need."

[Jessica Jane]

"If I took everyone at their word, then I'd probably be dead right now." Jessica mentally thought back to her encounter with the corrupt police chief. That was about all the proof that she needed to support that point. "So I'll tell you what, since you said that you'd give me the details over dinner, you can throw that into the mix. We'll deal with what happens next after that."

That actually was a bit of a concession on her part. Jess had actually wanted to put more of a condition on dinner, but had curtailed it at the last moment. She'd already learned that dealing with Thoma directly got her nowhere, so she might as well heed that lesson.

[Thoma Hirako]

He didn't seem to mind; he would rather get everything out, and he understood why she was careful like this. He knew all too well about having to fully trust people, because he had made so many people trust him, only for him to take from them in his past.

"I don't mind telling you," he told her as they arrived.