Chapter twelve – Stealing is wrong (Unless you have no other choice)
Disclaimer: You know the drill
"Stealing, of course, is a crime, and a very impolite thing to do. But like most impolite things, it is excusable under certain circumstances. Stealing is not excusable if, for instance, you are in a museum and you decide that a certain painting would look better in your house, and you simply grab the painting and take it there. But if you were very, very hungry, and you had no way of obtaining money, it would be excusable to grab the painting, take it to your house, and eat it."
―Lemony Snicket,The Wide Window
"There it is" Ryo said as he parked the van at the side of the street silhouetted by dim street lights. He nodded to the moderate apartments on the other side. "Apartment 302, Matsumoto" Ryo added as he switched the engine off.
"How am I supposed to get inside?" Tsuna asked and Ryo smirked before unbuckling his seat belt.
"I have it all planned out, kid. You're going to pick the lock. It's easy enough so that even a wimp like you can do it" Ryo said and Tsuna's eyes narrowed as he passed him a butter knife. "You just jam this in the side of the door until you can feel the tip of the knife against the lock. You push until you hear a click. That's when you know you're in" he said as he gave him a pair of black gloves and a blank white mask.
"And what if he's inside?" Tsuna asked as he slipped the gloves on his hands. They were warm.
"That's where I come in. I'm going to be your distraction" Ryo said as he picked up the carton of cigarettes from the dashboard before placing them in his front pocket. "While his attention is on me, you can go in his apartment" he added.
"And what is it that I'm stealing? You still haven't told me" Tsuna said, unlocking the door before sliding outside. He braced himself for the brisk, cold night's air and when it slapped against his face, he shivered.
"It's a small, rectangular, black box made of velvet. It has two silver initials H. R carved on the front" Ryo said. "Wait at the side of the building. When he comes out, that will be your signal to go upstairs and into his apartment. He'll be the one with a large scar on his chin, so he's not too hard to spot. Once he's outside, I can buy you about ten minutes of time so you'll have to be quick" Ryo added as he pulled out his phone.
"Give me your number" Tsuna said as he took out his own phone. Ryo arched an eyebrow. "So you can call me in case something happens" he explained and at the approval in Ryo's eyes, Tsuna looked away, though he was pleased.
"You're smarter than you look" Ryo said and Tsuna frowned. They exchanged numbers and Ryo held his phone up to his ear after he dialled Matsumoto's number. "Go on" he told Tsuna who shot him a nod before running cross the street. "Oi, asshole, I'm outside your fucking apartment. Get out here, I want to have a talk with you" he harshly said when his call connected. He looked up and saw when Matsumoto peeked down at him from his window. "If you don't, I'm going to fucking call the cops. Make your choice" he flipped his middle finger at the glaring man.
"Fine" Matsumoto grunted and hung up. Ryo shook his head as he threw the phone on his dashboard.
"This is going to hurt" Ryo mumbled to himself and took out the flask he always hid under his seat. He couldn't fight to save his life, but for that black box, he would risk everything.
Tsuna could hear his rushed breathing as he crouched down at the side of the building, thankful that it was dark so no one could really see him unless they were looking. The butter knife weighed down his gloved palm and he found himself thinking "Oh shit…I can't believe that I'm really doing this. I'm going to break into this man's home!" He watched as the man pushed open the glass door and walked outside in the freezing cold in nothing but a pair of shorts, an oversized coat and yellow galoshes. He was tall, even taller than his father was, with bulging muscles that not even his jacket could hide. His face was scrunched in a surly grimace when Tsuna caught sight of it as he looked both left and right before he crossed. Ryo who was still sitting inside the van, got out and Tsuna heard their muffled greetings. He knew from Ryo's quick glance his way that it was his time to act. Like Jin told him, he would have to acquaint himself to time. He checked his watch. 9:08 pm.
Without waiting, he dashed inside, opting NOT to wear the mask for the while, though he kept his head bowed. It would be too suspicious if he wore it then. And he was right in doing so, seeing as there were people inside as he walked up the stairs. With hurried steps, his eyes darting on the name plates, he looked for Apartment 302. He was grateful that people weren't lingering outside as he slipped the mask on. "Ah, there it is" he muttered to himself and slipped the butter knife in the crack where the lock would be. "What did he say to do again?" he asked himself as he jingled the knife. You just jam this in the side of the door until you can feel the tip of the knife against the lock. Tsuna did as he remembered what Ryo said, but it wasn't working.
"Did you see the new movie that Yoshitaka-sama* starred in?" a voice drifted from the staircase on his left. Now that he paid attention, he could hear footsteps making their way towards him.
"Shit" Tsuna panicked and jammed the knife deeper. "Come on, come on" he urged himself as he felt for the lock with the knife.
"Yeah, it was really great. She's so beautiful, I'm jealous" someone else whined as they got closer. Tsuna pushed the knife, hoping to hear a 'Click' soon.
"Please, just open" Tsuna begged the door, and by some miracle, the long awaited 'Click' replied to his desperate plea. He pushed the door open and quickly closed it. As the women passed by, his heart was racing a mile a minute. Trying to calm himself, he looked around the dark apartment.
He knew he couldn't switch the light on, or the man would see it from where he was. So instead, he took out his phone and danced his way around the mess that was the man's living room. "A small black box" he reminded himself as he sifted through weeks' worth of laundry, porn magazines, dirty tissues (Tsuna tried not to gag and throw up), empty sake bottles, wads of crumpled up paper, used food containers and some relatively new boxes of shoes, as well as clothes. He glanced down at his watch. He had exactly five minutes left.
He continued his search on all fours, the phone in his mouth, using its dim light to dig through the man's stuff. A rotten apple core, a smelly pair of slippers and sweaty gym clothes later, he saw it. The box just as Ryo described was sitting under a photo of the man and his sister. Next to it was a gun. "Oh shit" Tsuna whispered to himself. It was a handgun. Maybe he should…no, he couldn't. Tsuna got up and grabbed the box before safeguarding it in his jacket. He checked his time again. Two minutes. Without looking back, he got out of the apartment. As he was walking down the corridor, he passed by Matsumoto who was grumbling to himself, wiping his bloodied hands on his coat.
"Next time I'll fucking kill him" Tsuna could hear the man saying. Matsumoto looked up and glanced at Tsuna as their backs were towards each other. He could feel Matsumoto's eyes boring into the back of his skull and for a minute, Tsuna thought the gruff man knew that he was in his apartment some minutes ago. Sweat dripped down his temples and in order to stop his hands from shaking, he shoved them in his pockets. "Fucking kids" he heard Matsumoto say before he got into his apartment. Like his life depended on it, he ran down the stairs. However when he got outside the building, lying next to his van in a pool of his own blood, was an unconscious Ryo.
Moments before:
Matsumoto grinned at Ryo who was collapsed on the bloody, snow peppered asphalt as his body gave out. The man hadn't even lasted a good nine minutes despite all his big talk. Matsumoto moved to enact more damage, when a gun was coldly pressed against his back. Matsumoto stiffened. "TuRn ArOuNd" someone said and Matsumoto despite his clenched fists, did as instructed. He was surprised to see that a kid was at the end of the gun. He tried not to smirk, ready to disarm the brat, when pain blossomed across his stomach. Against his will, he kneeled, the barrel of the gun now pushed against his forehead. Matsumoto felt shame burning away at him, causing for his blood to boil. Who the fuck was this kid? How could he lose against this shitty child?!
"WhEn YoU lEaVe, DoN't TuRn bACk. DoN'T loOk DoWn" the kid said who wore a clown mask. "AnSwER" he commanded in that voice that could put nails scratching against a black board to shame. When Matsumoto refused to do as he said, he got a quick jab to the face with the blunt end of the gun. How humiliating…continued to rage around in his mind.
"Yes" he conceded and the boy, guessing from his lean physique as well as his voice, stepped back.
"Go NoW" the boy said and Matsumoto slowly got to his feet. He was thinking about slamming his body against the child in a tackle, when he froze. His eyes widened. "NoW" the boy pushed his blood lust his way and Matsumoto, despite his ego walked away with his metaphorical tail between his legs.
*Yoshitaka Yuriko, a Japanese actress who is indeed quite beautiful. She's acted in We are there, and Gantz, etc.
A/N: Woo, it's been quite awhile since I've updated, hasn't it? *insert a shameless grin here* .
I'm sorry to everyone who has followed and placed this story in your favorites. It's been nearly a year or more since I've dedicated some time on my stories and I know how frustrating and shitty it can feel as a reader, when an author disappears for such a long while.
I'm not going to make excuses for my foul behaviour, but just know that I'm truly sorry for my long disappearance.
That's why I'm going to promise in the future to update more, even going as far as to create a deadline for myself and to the readers .
From now on, chapters will come every Sunday (don't know the exact time tho)
As for the new reviews, thank you every one for leaving your critical feedback and encouragement. I'll try to respond in the next chapter.
See you guys next Sunday, ;p
-Frosty
