Chapter 9 - By a stroke of luck
Midnight. The perfect time for a thief to do what he is trained for. But this was also the time when the thieves guarding the guild were more alert than ever. There was only one entrance to the treasure room, and it was heavily guarded. There was no way he would ever get through.
Shiro lay on his bed staring at the ceiling, his arms resting behind his head. Had no idea how he was going to do this. The only person he knew who could actually pull of such an feat was his brother, who he knew would not help.
He closed his eyes and was about to sleep when he heard the voice of a fellow thief.
"Tanaka-san, you're being called for guard duty at the treasure vault."
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Twenty-one. There were twenty other thieves on guard duty, and he was twenty one, the furthest from the vault. It was as if fate were mocking him, allowing him to get close to his prize, yet not close enough. He cursed silently. He would honor his promise no matter what.
Little by little he attempted to inch closer to the vault door. He had made it a few meters, then stopped. Something wasn't right...
Out of instinct he ducked down and cloaked, only to feel himself fall backwards into the wall. Now he was in a dark passageway...too dark.
He pulled out a small flint and lit a candle he had in his pocket.
I am so glad Kuro gave this to me...
He crawled through the dark tunnel and saw a small white object reflecting the light of his candle.
It was Ai's necklace.