Chapter 2: Thick as thieves (Liam)

Once we opened the door the full Phantom Dragons base of operations was in view. The walls were covered in banners with the same design as the door. We had about two dark wood shelves on each side with files on future plans and heists. The room was warm and smelt like hot chocolate, smooth saxophone music played softly in the background. The lights cast a burning red-orange glow on everything. At the end of the room there was a round table with viking like dragon markings all over it and behind it, an Asian looking girl with hair as dark as the night it's itself, dressed in a grey dungaree with motor oil on her cheek, it was Hidaka. She was sitting at the far side of the table infront of the whiteboard giving us a death stair.

"Yep, she's mad...real mad." Said Hisashi.

"What the hell took you numb skulls so long, and how the hell is it that a guy who can teleport is always late? You were supposed to be here an hour ago."

It's funny, her voice reminded me of paper, smooth and clean but right now all I felt were paper cuts.

"Look Liam and I are sorry okay, we sorta got caught up after school."

She got up and walk to us getting face to face with Hisashi.

"Caught up how?"

It was so cute since she was shorter than him, it was like watching a cat yell at a lion.

"Well." He gave her a smile, "..caught up like this." He grabbed her cheeks and kissed her forehead, her face became bright red as she looked down.

"H-Hisashi." she said in a small nervous voice.

"Your sneak attacks don't work on me!" as she yelled that she gave him a heavy knee in a place it should never go, I could even hear church bells go off and angels sing in a distance. "I'm not one of your simps."

"Instant KO, winner Hidaka Shitarin!" I couldn't stop laughing as I said that.

"Oh you think your off the hook Liam, nah. I've got a lot of hurt for you too."

"Just my luck." I said weakly.

After some ice and apologies things finally calmed down.

" So Hisashi, what's this meeting about?" she asked.

"Well, for one, The Peacekeepers want their money immediately. They've been harassing me about it all week."

The thought of those guys irritated me,

"What the hell, we just paid them our full sum from our last job at the gas station, we gave them so much I had to pay you two's school fees from my own saved up pocket money and that still wasn't enough?"

"Yeah, they said we got about two weeks to raise ten million yen."

My blood began to boil, "Those bastards, I'm sorry guys, not even I can pay that right now. My dad will get suspicious and if he finds out, he might move us away. Looks like we have to steal again."

"but...as per the rules we set for ourselves, school first thieving second. We'll finish late though since you two numbskulls took your time coming here."

As we got into our homework, Hida began to poke fun at Hisashi's writing skill. (Honestly, with those pen contortions, you could tell the weather. Come to thing of it, we've only known each other for about two years now.) Memories of how we met began to flood back to me.

It was around two years ago during winter, I couldn't tell whether or not it was the nightly cold that felt like icy daggers digging into my spine or just my nerves from me trying my first smash-n-grab. I could see a Merc AMG GT with a small purse in the front. The rich suburbs are usually quiet around 12 am so breaking into the driveway would be easy. I adjusted my face mask and stepped up to the front gate to throw a disk over but a voice called to me.

"You know that won't work right."

My heart stopped beating, it was as if the world around me began to slow down. As I turned the first thing that struck me was that hair, waving in the sky like a dancing flame.

"Don't worry, I'm a friend. Those guys have some seriously high security, you won't get out safely." it was a tall lean looking boy, he was wearing a mouth cover similar to mine (did he get the same idea I had...nah I doubt it).

"Don't worry my miso will get me out."

"...okay but."

"Look it's all good man, just mind your own business okay."

He just shrugged and walked away. I then tossed a disk over the gate and teleport in. I could see the bag in the car, so I smashed in the window and grabbed it. Immediately the cars alarm went off and the household was alerted.

"Time to get out of here....the hell?" (my miso won't switch on, this is bad this is bad this is bad this is bad.) I panicked and ran to the gate but as I reached it my heart sank. There was a high voltage electrical fence on the gate, I was trapped.

"Step back!"

As I heard that I jumped back instantly and the gates hinges exploded making it fall. It was the guy from earlier, "c'mon, or do u wanna get caught."

Before I knew it I was running at top speed, in a distance I could hear yelling and cursing. We must have ran for miles before we stopped at a local park. As we sat under a tree I realised that I hadn't thanked him yet.

"Hey, thanks for the help man. What's your name?"

"Hisashi...Hisashi Mori, you?" he took his mask off so I could get a good look at him. (Daaaaamn I'm not gay but seriously man this guy makes me question that).

"Liam Kara-no-goki."

"Wait, you're a member of THE Kara-no-goki family. The family of teleporters who run those miso based tournaments, investors of millions of large businesses and owners of Portal Transportation?"

"Yah." I answered bitterly.

"Then why are you trying to rob your own family, does that purse have something important?"

"No, just laying some hate." I tossed it into a bin.

"Hisashi!" another voice called, it was a girl about the same age as me. She had on a grease covered purple dungaree, worker boots and pitch black hair so dark it could consume light. I instantly got my discs out and stepped back, ready for a fight.

"So is this your game, getting me here then robbing me?"

Hisashi burst out laughing, "I don't know what's funnier, the fact that you think that I'd save then rob you..." then his voice subtly changed. "...or that you think you can actually take me on in a fight." I don't know what it was but suddenly I felt like a mole hill staring at Krakatoa. Realising the futility in fighting I put away my discs and sat down again.

"This is Hidaka Shitarin, she's a friend of mine, who I convinced to help me with my...work."

"More like prisoner who you blackmailed into helping you with your work." she said as she kicked him.

Despite Hida's harsh tone to him, they seemed close...almost like siblings.

"Wait, what kind of work?"

"Same thing you were trying to do..." he gave me an impish smile "...robbery."

"Liam!" Hida called

My mind flashed back into the present, "Can you focus please, we got a lot to cover in physics today and our next heist is in two weeks, you need to wake up."

"Sorry just reminiscing." I said while giggling, she hasn't changed a bit.

Once we finished I walked home alone, the house was really quiet despite it being 10pm. (Mom and dad must have gone on a date or something.) I quickly ran up the staircase and straight into my room. I switched off my flat screen jumping into bed and went to sleep.