As Modoru and Nokosu slowly worked their way down each level the night grew older. By the time they reached the ground floor, it was already 5 am and daybreak was upon them. They would need to hurry as many of the early employees would be heading for work – making their exit that much harder. Once reaching the basement level, Nokosu took lead and headed for the storage room that held the company's extra resources. The trick with this room however, is that the door to the storage area could only be opened from the outside, not the inside. Which meant that they needed to keep the door to the room open. This was a telltale sign that someone was in the room – however they could not shirk this aspect of the heist. Hopefully none of the guards would notice. As they opened the door and Modoru was about to search for the Xenophite, Nokosu looked at Modoru.
"Actually Modoru, let's change the plan. I should be the one looking for the Xenophite because I've been working with it the most. I know how its storage containers look like and what its abbreviated forms are. You be the look out. That way if any one notices the open door you should be able to take them out." Nokosu said.
"Good idea Nokosu," Modoru said. "OK, but don't take too long, we have only maximum 10 minutes before the guards rotate. By then they will for sure notice the open door. Hurry."
"Will do," Nokosu said. And with that Nokosu went into the room and hurriedly searched for the Xenophite. As Modoru leaned against the wall inside the room, keeping the door open, he kept one eye on the outside and one inside for Nokosu. 5 minutes passed and nothing happened – which was a good sign. However, Modoru expected Nokosu too have found it already.
"Nokosu…how's it going in there?" he whispered to his friend.
"…..Nothing yet. I'm searching for it. I noticed their keeping things alphabetically organized here. So Xenophite should be at the end…give me a bit more time."
"Ok." Modoru said as he looked outside. Unfortunately, they didn't have that luxury. Already two guards had noticed the door to the room open. Nobody was supposed to be in this room at this time of night, so they pulled out their weapons. However instead of approaching the room, they called for backup. This was what Modoru had hoped against. If they had approached the room, he could have waited until they were close enough and taken them out. They were smart to call for backup. As two minutes passed Nokosu came back with a small white storage can in his hand.
"Got it!" he whispered. "I was right. They keep it in the end of the room…..what's wrong?" Nokosu asked.
"We've got trouble. Some of the guards noticed the open door to the room. Instead of approaching it, they called for backup. Now their forming a barricade – preventing us from escaping." Modoru said. "We're going to have teleport out. It's our only way."
"Shit….I don't know…..I didn't...We didn't plan for this. What am I supposed to do?" Nokosu asked with alarm in his voice.
"Relax and listen," Modoru said calmly. "We're going perform a basic evasive technique the military does when caught in a corner. We developed this specifically to avoid gunfire and projectile based weaponry. The idea is teleport upward at a 45 degree angle, then downward to the left, downward to the right, then out towards your zone of safety. In our case our zone of safety is up the stairs. If you can't remember this, just remember, up, left, right, and out. I shall go first and show you where to go, but you can't follow me closely this time because you might get caught up in the gunfire. We have to space out our teleporting. Are you following me?"
"Fuck….gunfire? We definitely didn't train for gunfire. I was listening Modoru, but I don't think I can do this. I've never teleported to avoid projectiles before, let alone gunfire. And I'm not a soldier." Nokosu said nervously
"My friend…it's either this or we come clean now and get caught. I doubt even you want to risk our shot at getting back to our time. Unfortunately, things did go to shit, but it happens." Modoru said consolingly. "You can do this dude. We can still get out of this unscathed."
"....Ok, show me. And I'll follow." Nokosu said a little less shakily.
"Ok, its going to be fast. Keep an eye on me all times. Here we go." Modoru said. As Modoru turned on his C.S device, he looked at Nokosu and brought up his fist in a fistbump. Nokosu returned the fistbump and smiled very slightly. "See you in 30 seconds. After I go, wait 10 seconds then follow. Don't hesitate." Modoru said, then disappeared. As he began to port, Nokosu looked ever so slightly from behind the room's door. Modoru then appeared at an upward 45 degree angle and instantly disappeared again. The guards noticed Modoru and started firing their weapons. Modoru continued teleporting across his predetermined path, avoiding gunfire by confusing the guards as to his position. The evasive technique all of sudden made sense to Nokosu. He could do this. All he needed to do was maintain concentration on his wrists as the activation of his mounted lighters would make or break him. After Modoru had left, Nokosu counted down from 10. He could feel his hands shaking and his heart beating faster. Nokosu closed his eyes and tried to relax. 'up, right, left, and out,' he thought. Before reaching one, Nokosu flexed his wrists and opened up the flame. As he reached one, he grabbed the flame with his fingers and disappeared. 'up,' he thought. Appearing now at the same 45 degree angle Modoru had just been 10 seconds before him, he flexed his wrists again, and instantly disappeared. The guards noticed again and began firing. Before appearing, Nokosu concentrated and thought of Agatha. He really wanted to see her again. It would help him get out of this alive. Nokosu appeared again and put his head down. 'right,' he thought. Nokosu then flexed his wrists and disappeared again. He could hear the gunfire, but was still alive. It was working. '2 more ports,' he thought. Following Modoru's instructions, Nokosu continued his path, finally arriving at the stairs where Modoru was waiting for him in a corner. One of the guards shouted.
"Where are you!? How did they do that? Advance!" said the officer. Modoru beckoned Nokosu to him.
"Nice! I knew you could do it! You're a natural Nokosu." Modoru congratulated him.
"Thanks…..my heart feels like it's going to burst though," Nokosu confessed.
"That's the adrenaline." Modoru said. "Your body helped you out by giving you adrenaline in its time of need."
"It's hardcore stuff man," Nokosu said.
"It is," Modoru said. "Come on let's get out here. Now you can follow me closely." Modoru ran into the lobby of Shibuya as the sun came up. Both of them porting out of the company and up to the top of one of adjacent buildings – they both rested.
"Do you still have it on you?" Modoru asked.
"Yeah, the Xenophite is in my pack...Modoru I need to talk to you." Nokosu said.
"What about?" Modoru asked.
"Look, I know this whole heist thing was my plan. But….but...getting shot at changes your view of things. I am not soldier…..nor a thief...this whole thing has made that much clear to me…" Nokosu said.
"But you made it, you're alive. And you did great." Modoru interrupted.
"Let me finish," Nokosu said, "I realize that I have some talent with this whole teleporting business, but like I said getting shot at has put some things into perspective. I can't do this again. My heart can't handle it. I think we should do this the long way. As in work our way up the company – enough to buy stocks and gain actual access to Xenophite. Because they will have definitely upped their security if we decide to steal again."
"Nokosu….you realize that if we stop stealing and take that route….it's going to take us years. And bear in mind this whole plan to steal was your idea," Modoru said.
"I know…but I just can't anymore. Once is enough for a lifetime. I hope you can understand dude. Some people just aren't cut out for it. And I'm doing this not just for my well being. It's for someone else too."
"Agatha….Ok that makes sense..." Modoru said. He walked away and looked into the morning dawn. Would he be at peace with this? Would he be able to wait years to go back home? He took that instant to pray again and ask God for help. In that instance he realized what was important. His friendship with Nokosu had become important to him. Almost as important to him as going home. Nokosu was good for him and he thought, at least, he was a good influence for Nokosu. If he was going to do this, he would be in it for the long haul. Taking a deep breath, he realized he was at peace with it and headed back to Nokosu. Nokosu for the most part was waiting for him, having grown accustomed to Modoru's brief moments of aloneness.
"What do you usually do when you take those moments for yourself," Nokosu asked curiously.
"….I pray. I pray for guidance and help," Modoru confessed. "Look Nokosu I won't lie and say that I would've liked to return to our time earlier, but if it means doing it together, then I'll agree to stay here and wait that long." Modoru raised his fist in a fistbump and Nokosu returned it. "I'm with you bro."
"Phew…..I thought you were going to say no. I would have been extremely sad to do this without you," laughed Nokosu.
"You'd be lost without me," Modoru smiled as he started walking across the buildings. "Shall we head back?"
"Sure," Nokosu said he followed Modoru. They both disappeared into a teleport as the breaking dawn shone its light across Diviner's city.