Lonely Thieves

Act II, Part V

Megumi's Side (April 9, 7:00 am)

Megumi peeked around the corner at the street ahead. No Overman agents in sight. She emerged from her hiding spot and walked briskly across the street with full grocery bags in hand, Hikaru following swiftly behind. They entered the lot and quickly made a beeline for the safehouse, not stopping to talk until they had locked the door behind them. Megumi let out an exhausted sigh and dropped the bags she was holding onto the table.

"You think they've given up yet?" Megumi asked to no one in particular.

"Probably just a lapse in patrols," Hikaru observed. "I wouldn't count on it being this easy next time. It was a good idea to stock up on food and drinks."

Megumi pulled open the bags and started putting the perishable food into the fridge. Most of the groceries they bought were canned food meant to last a long while without going bad, so the only things that needed to be placed in the fridge were the fruit that Hikaru was insistent on buying.

"Are you alright, Megumi?" Hikaru asked as she busied herself with the groceries. "You know, we didn't really get to talk much about last night."

"Huh? Oh, yeah... about my family."

"It was a shock, right? I'm sorry I couldn't tell you earlier."

"Yeah, I was surprised, but honestly? I don't really know if I feel much of anything else. They're my family, but they died before I could even have a chance to remember them. It's sad, but I don't think it's really hitting me."

"That can't be helped, I suppose," Hikaru remarked as he helped put the rest of the groceries into the fridge. The conversation died down, and only the awkward sound of grocery bags broke up the silence between them.

Eventually, the door to the safehouse opened up, and Kolya quickly entered and shut the door behind him. "Overman patrols seemed to be reduced," he noted as he sorted through some of his belongings in a bag on the floor. "I doubt it'll stay that way. If we're going to leave, now's our chance."

"This early? I still haven't even eaten breakfast yet."

"Eat on the go, then. Hikaru, I'm counting on you to navigate."

"Right." Hikaru pulled out two sandwiches from one of the grocery bags and handed it to Megumi.

"I was pretty surprised," Megumi remarked. "I didn't know you still had blood relatives."

"We haven't spoken in a while, though," Hikaru mused. "He might not even remember me anymore."

"That'll be a problem, won't it?"

"Don't worry. I'm sure he remembers me."

Hikaru seemed a little sad when he said that. Megumi wondered what was bothering him, but she decided it wasn't the best time to pry.

The two of them headed out of the safehouse and followed Kolya to where he had hidden his car. Megumi hopped into the back seat while Hikaru set up navigation in the passenger seat. They soon headed off for their destination, and Megumi noted quickly that the Overman patrols around the area had definitely reduced. Perhaps they were focusing on other districts since they hadn't managed to catch anyone here. She could only hope that they wouldn't be back any time soon.

In a few minutes, the three of them were on the highway headed to the Cloud district. It was the first time in a while that Megumi had seen the cityscape from the highway like this, so she sat in a daze watching the city blaze by as Kolya and Hikaru spoke in the front of the car.

"Does he have any connection to the Matsuoka family?"

"No professional one. He's not blood-related to them either."

"And he's your uncle?"

"Yeah. Used to take care of me after my parents died."

"I see. You're sure he knows what happened to the Matsuokas?"

"Definitely. There's no way he's forgotten. He'd come to visit the orphanage every now and then, and I could just tell that it still haunts him, whatever it is."

Megumi listened silently as they continued to talk quietly about their destination. Hikaru was talking about things that she had no idea about. Even though his intentions were good, she felt somewhat betrayed. He had been lying to her this whole time. It didn't feel great to realize that.

Eventually, Kolya turned off the highway onto the Cloud district, which was rather far away from the heart of the city of Twilight. This made it unpopular with the party-loving youngsters, but an ideal place for the senior citizens of Twilight to relax in tranquility. The car was heading to one such retirement complex, a rather cheap one that didn't necessarily look all that comfortable. Kolya parked in the guest parking lot, and the three of them headed into the main building. Nurses and carers walked about as they walked up to the front desk, where a middle-aged receptionist addressed them with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm here to visit Mr. Masao Yoshida."

"Relation?"

"He's my uncle."

The receptionist typed away at her computer for a moment, then asked for Hikaru's ID card. Hikaru handed it to her and stood back for a moment as she looked through the database. Eventually, she handed back the card and pointed down the hall.

"He's currently in suite 140B. Make sure not to make too much noise or disturb the other retirees."

Hikaru took back his card and nodded before heading down the hallway, with Megumi and Kolya following close behind. They walked through to a large condominium-like complex and walked up the steps to the suite they were directed to. Hikaru stood in front of the door and lightly knocked on it. After a few moments, a young nurse answered the door.

"Hello! Can I help you?" she asked in a cheery voice.

"Is Masao here? Please tell him his nephew Hikaru is here to see him."

The nurse nodded and turned back towards the inside. "Mr. Yoshida! Your nephew is here to visit!"

"Let him in!" answered a deep voice from the back. The nurse pulled open the door and motioned for the group to come in. As the three of them entered the suite, Megumi took stock of the retirement suite. It looked a lot bigger than it did on the outside, with a sizable living room, a separate kitchen, and a hallway that presumably led to a bedroom and bathroom. From this hallway emerged an elderly man with a rotund body and a walking cane. His head was balding, and his face looked worn from decades of rough work. The man acknowledged Hikaru with a nod as he slowly walked across the room to greet him.

"Well, if it isn't Hikaru! Come to see your uncle after all this time?" The man glanced over at Megumi and Kolya, and a look of shock came over his face. "Chisato?"

"Uncle Masao!" Hikaru suddenly called out. "That's not right. Chisato's gone, remember?"

"Er, right," Masao mumbled, coughing to clear his throat. He braced a nearby chair and pointed at the nurse with his cane. "Please, allow me some time alone with my nephew. I will call for you if I need you for anything."

The nurse seemed doubtful, but she nodded and left the room. Masao waited for a moment for the nurse to walk off, then suddenly struck Hikaru on the shin with his walking cane.

"Fool!" he suddenly roared, with more vigor than Megumi expected. "What are you doing bringing her here like this?!"

"It can't be helped, uncle. Things have gotten out of hand, and..."

"We're already aware that Miss Megumi is related to the Matsuokas," Kolya interjected, stepping in between Masao and Hikaru. "We need to know what that means."

Masao struck Hikaru on the shin again. "Idiot! Don't you know what it means to keep a secret?!"

"Uncle, please," Hikaru pleaded as he winced in pain. "Megumi's in danger. Right now, what we don't know is hurting us."

Masao let out a sigh. Then, he sat down in his chair and pointed at the stools placed around the living room. "Go on, sit down. Explain the situation to me already."

The three of them sat down and began to explain their current circumstances. Masao listened intently to their story, then lit a cigarette as he seemed to ruminate over the details. Eventually he looked at Kolya and eyed him with a steely glare.

"You there. You're the Stalker, aren't you? What's an Innocenti man doing here?"

"I stopped being an Innocenti man years ago. Though, if you knew I was Innocenti, then you must also be someone who was connected to that world."

"In a way," Masao answered as he let out a puff of smoke. "I used to be a high-ranking member of Hayasaka Security way back when. Quit a long time ago, of course."

"I see. No wonder."

"Be straight with me, Stalker. You just said you've got nothing to do with the Innocenti. Can I hold you to that?"

"Occasionally they show up to ask for a favor from me, but I have no particular loyalty to them."

"Then let me ask you this. I'll tell you what you want to know, but in exchange, I want you to protect Megumi no matter what happens. Can you promise me that?"

Kolya nodded. "I promise."

Megumi was surprised. The two of them were not friends of any kind, and in their first meeting, he had even pointed a gun at her. So for him to promise such a thing without any hint of a reward was strangely altruistic of him. What did he have to gain?

Whatever his particular motivations may have been, Masao seemed to accept his sincerity. He laid back in his chair and let out another puff of smoke and looked up at the ceiling, as if he were asking permission from the heavens. Eventually, he came to a decision and gave them a resolute nod.

"Okay. Here's what I know about the Matsuokas."