"Home, sweet home," I thought, closing the door behind me. "So dear, so cozy." And even if it's just a two-story box, there's no other one for me anyway. Taking off my shoes, I went to the kitchen, where I left the bag of food I bought at the store on the way from school. I went into the living room, threw the keys on the coffee table and went up to my room to put my school bag. Having gone down to the first floor, I wondered: should I cook dinner right away or work first? Although what the hell kind of work, everything was created and adjusted a long time ago, and at the moment I can only observe, or, better to say, control. After all, I am an almighty boss, and not some bullshit, but a Shidotamor. Known in certain circles all over the world. The owner and creator of the most popular search engine and the first social network of its kind. Licked at one time from Google and Twitter. However, these are the most famous, but not the only products of the company. The main difficulty was to remain unknown to the public and not lose control at the same time. No one has forgotten that I'm a minor, right? And without the intervention of an adult, it would be difficult to pull off such a thing. But with this, thank God, Nakata Akemi helped me, a very ambiguous person both in the shadow and in the legal life of the empire.
In general, I decided to do cooking. It's daytime now, but I prefer to cook in advance while I have time. Although you can check your mail now, suddenly something important has happened.
Fifteen minutes later, after making sure that nothing was burning, I went to the kitchen. Having scattered the brought products on the shelves and refrigerator, I started cooking, simultaneously remembering my first meeting with Akemi.
* * *
And that story began, in fact, a year after the disappearance of the parents. At that time I was earning money in the only way that came to my mind, namely by stealing. And since I'm not a plucker, I started robbing apartments. By that time, I had been recovering my abilities for two years while my parents were with me, and by the time they left, my physical skills had more or less returned to normal. It is the skills, not the capabilities. That is, I would have scattered my peers, but with adults such a topic would not have gone through. Still, there is not much strength in a ten-year-old body, but there is decent dexterity. So reaction, coordination, speed to some extent, and, of course, knowledge and skills acquired in another world — all this inspired optimism on the path of theft chosen by me. Although at first it was still difficult. Ignorance of the subject almost came out sideways to me a couple of times. And, of course, ignorance of the shadow world — what, where, from whom and for how much? — it killed the possibility of stealing items, I had to look for cash. Over time, this problem was resolved. After four months of walking around Tokyo at night and chronic lack of sleep, I carefully, in small things, began to sell the things I had stolen.
A month later, they began to recognize me. A month later, for the first time, I was offered to steal a specific thing from a specific house. After another one, they tried to catch me — unsuccessfully, as you understand. I still don't know why or why. There are no thieves' guilds in Tokyo, and indeed in all of Japan, I would not have time to cross the road to anyone, and I am too small fry for criminal clans. No, at that time I didn't understand anything about it, and there were a lot of assumptions, but even now, sorting out this mess, I can't find the answer why and to whom I was needed then. I was really nothing.
I should also add that I went to the case, as well as to the sale of stolen goods, in a mask I bought in one of the Shinto temples in Tokyo. Originally it was a wooden fox mask with narrow slits for the eyes, smooth and oval, painted in orange and white. But after I cut off her ears and covered her with black paint, she became a good addition to my black clothes, in which I showed myself in public or went fishing. Well, since I was not given into anyone's hands, and I communicated with the help of a notebook, no one knew who I was and how I looked.
At the age of eleven, I became quite a well-known person. Probably, my height played an important role in this, many people wanted to find out who I was and whether a child could really do such things or I was still some kind of a runt. In general, curiosity excited minds. But in any case, I had earned a certain reputation by that time, and I was not deprived of orders. And although they were quite simple, and therefore inexpensive, I did not have to choose, because reputation, and therefore more paid orders, does not appear out of nowhere. But the real fame and name I got after that very story.
The order was simple. Both at first and second glance. It was necessary to steal documents from the office of the first floor of a certain small firm in the west of Tokyo. I've been watching this firm for a couple of weeks. I monitored entrances and exits, made inquiries, found out about employees and superiors, found out the degree of protection of the building: cameras, alarms, locks. For a whole year I not only worked, but also studied, and I was sure that I could bypass the security of the building and, in particular, the office. It was a little annoying that you would have to steal not from ordinary people, but from members of one of the criminal gangs. It is quite possible that they want to use me and throw me away. In principle, it was not difficult to determine whether this was the case or not, all I had to do was find out what kind of documents I needed to steal. But it was problematic for me to find out. The order was handed over by an intermediary, and they fundamentally mind their own business and, of course, do not give out the customer. It is clear that in theory, the mediator could know the details I needed and could even tell who the other party is. But he wouldn't have said anything to me anyway: my level is not the same. No name, no reputation.
I decided to take a chance, but with reservations. Actually, this is not welcome. To put it bluntly, they kill for this, but I was going to look at the folder with the name "Three Cherry trees". Look right in the office and, if I don't like something, return the documents back and quietly disappear. And inform the intermediary that I refuse the order. It remains to decide when to go — day or night. Both options had their pros and cons. At night, the building was empty, except for two guards, but at the same time the entire security system was turned on — an alarm system on every door, on every window. During the day, accordingly, everything is the opposite: more guards, less electronics. And if I was older, there wouldn't even be a question — it was always easier for me with people. But now I was nobody, and all I had was knowledge. Which, thanks to the instructors who still hammered them into me, were not limited only to destruction. And even if I was a Destroyer, and not a Shadow or at least an Eraser, I would most likely be able to bypass the local security system. Eh, it would be faster to restore the "withdrawal of eyes"…
In general, the choice fell on the night. At three-fourteen in the morning, I was standing at the door of the office of a small shell company.
Due to the fact that there is a cloud of electronics in this building, I decided to try to find a consultant. A short and careful search led me to an old thief named Wrapper, specializing in expensive apartments. The Wrapper itself has been in its business for fifty years, but it got caught only once, just because of a candy wrapper. Cool, in general, the old man. Just like that, on the move, he refused to help me, I persuaded him for two hours. Moreover, the communication itself took at most thirty minutes. Twenty minutes at the beginning and ten minutes at the end. The rest of the time I stood stupidly under his door, tapping on it with my foot. Funny, I repeat, old man. To tell the truth, I didn't expect to be able to persuade him to help me so quickly, I thought it would take a couple of days. And the main thing is that the Wrapper really fumbles in his business, and that he is not averse to helping me further. And why didn't I find a teacher earlier?
The lock on the door to the office was with a contact ID, so it didn't cause any problems: a shock discharge — and the way is clear. Carefully walking past the desks with computers, I approached the door to the office of the local authorities. It was already a little more serious: an electronic lock from P& P with a contactless card. To solve this problem, I had a device that was a mini-magnetron emitting electromagnetic vibrations with a narrowly directed beam. The magnetron itself looked like a twelve-centimeter tube and could change the frequency and power. The main thing is to do all the work smoothly, and the lock will not stand. Which was proved by me in a couple of minutes.
Entering the office and closing the door behind me, I froze.
"Something is wrong here..."
— Well, hello, my... hmm... little friend. And who are you, let me ask you?
The light turned on simultaneously with the click of the lock, blinding me for a second. When I blinked, I saw a woman with dark blue, almost black hair sitting on the edge of a desk surrounded by five big men scattered around the office. M-yes-a-a. Check on you, sir. You are a check.
— Well, why are you standing there like a non-native. I chuckled to myself. And where did this Japanese woman get such expressions? — Sit down, take off your mask, tell us about the life of thieves.
Oh, if only someone knew what feelings were raging in me then. Universal resentment against the whole world. It is the world, not the people living in it. Anger at yourself and the customer. Regret that the Koyama won't even know where I've gone. It's just not fair, after all. To catch a vanishingly small chance of survival during the transition to this world and die at the hands of some petty criminals.
Throwing my backpack in front of me, I squatted down and took out a taser. The woman, watching me curiously, grinned:
— A nice toy, it helps to fend off animals quite well. Well, there are cats, rabbits... mice — if you get there.
And what do we have? The only way out of the office is behind my back, but it takes me two minutes to open the door. The glass on the windows is armor-piercing. The ventilation is too narrow, even if I could reach it. And five goons against an eleven-year-old child. There are no advantages as such.
— Understand, kid, we don't need you by yourself. Answer our questions and you can leave.