You’ve already decided what you must do. After that message that Yuka left on your phone you have no choice but to check out her shop. Leaving Mokou behind, especially after that whole scene, isn’t really an option.

“Alright,“ Turning to face Mokou, you begin, “Well, there’s something I need to check out, and--”

Mokou holds up a hand, stopping you mid-sentence. “I know you’re probably about to invite me along on whatever little misadventure you’re about to run off on, but I can’t go with you. I’m already late for work as it is. Given that the owner gave me this job as a favor to my mom, there’s no way I can miss. He’s going to be mad enough as it is that I’m late.” Pulling her cell phone from her pocket she glances at the time displayed on the front. “Ah, good, I should just be able to make the train. Call me tonight! Or else!” Smiling at you briefly, Mokou turns and breaks off into a run towards the train station.

The grin sends a shiver down your spine.

Well, damn. So much for bringing her along. Glancing at your own phone you curse inwardly. You’re going to have to run if you want to catch the train. Turning, you run off in the opposite direction.

Panting and sweating you push your way onto the train. After your run through the mazelike corridors of the streets, you really don’t want to be dealing with this many people. Still, You’re just glad that you made the train at all. The sound of the doors sliding shut behind you only serves to reinforce this. Grabbing onto a hand hold you pull yourself through the crowd. The train lurches forward causing you to stumble slightly and tighten your grip on the handhold. It would seem that the trains on this line are older than those that you’re used to taking.

The ride is largely uneventful, punctuated only by people getting off the train at the various stops. While it is boring, it does allow you to snag a seat after about the third or fourth stop. Several stops later, you look up to see that you’re the only person left on the train.

Odd. While Yuka’s shop is well out from the hub of the city, you didn’t think that it would be so far out as to result in an empty train. Looking out the window you don’t even see the lights from the city any more. Blinking you stare out the window. The only thing that greets you is pitch blackness as far as the eye can see. Even if Yuka’s shop was on the most extreme edge of the city there should be some lights, either from buildings or from the city center far in the distance.

You stand up to see if the view is the same out of all the windows when you feel the train begin to slow. Outside the window opposite you, a concrete slab slides through the darkness, illuminated by a single light post casting a pool of light weakly against the surrounding darkness. At the very edge of the light cast there seems to be several trees. No, a forest would be a more accurate description as your eyes adjust to the darkness and you can make out the forms of several other trees swaying slightly. Pressing yourself up against the window, engrossed in this bizarre view, you failed to notice the aged woman who boarded the train. The woman takes a seat across from you as the train lurches forward. She clears her throat and begins speaking.

“Achem. Don’t you think you should sit down, son? If you stay like that, you’ll likely get knocked to the floor the next time the train stops.”

You almost jump out of your skin as you spin to face the woman. “Uh. . . I suppose you’re right,” Taking a seat you try to focus on her but seem to be able to identify anything but the fact that she’s an old woman. “Thank you for the suggestion, Miss. . .”

The woman impatiently brushes a stray lock of graying hair from her face. “My name is unimportant at this juncture, time is short, so I’ll be brief. “Take care.”

“Excuse me?” You stare at the woman quizzically.
“You’ll be meeting many new people soon. Some you’ve met before, some you’ve never known. Not all of them will be trustworthy. Trust your instincts.”

You scoff at this. “What are you going on about, grandma?”

“You’ll see soon enough,” The woman chuckles quietly to herself, “But the time for idle banter has ended. This is my stop.”

The train’s brakes scream as it suddenly lurches to a stop. You are especially thankful that you listened to the woman and sat down properly, otherwise you’d likely have been thrown to the front of the train. With a sprightliness surprising for someone of her seemingly advanced years, the woman stands to the doors of the train.

“One last thing. Don’t forget to--”

The whole train lurches to the side before the woman can finish speaking. Rocking back and forth violently, you swear you hear someone yelling at you.

“Damn kid. Wake up!”

A sharp stinging in your face brings you back to your senses.

“Damn kid, last stop. Get off the train.”

Looking around, you see that the train is still in the city.

“You can’t stay on this train. If you don’t have anywhere to go, that’s not my problem, just get the hell off of my train.”

Stumbling to your feet you shuffle off the train while the conductor who threw you off grumbles something about worthless homeless people. A fog still envelops your head as you stumble down from the train platform, but a quick shake of your head seems to clear it some. If that was a dream, it was a bizarre and strangely realistic one. You shake your head again and set off towards Yuka’s shop once again.

~~~~~~
Meanwhile; elsewhere. . .
~~~~~~

Ripping the helmet from her head, the shadowy figure curses to herself. “I thought I’d have more time. Oh well, at least I got the important part across.” Slumping down in the chair, another, much smaller figure runs up to her.

“I told you it was too dangerous. I TOLD you. Now c’mon. We have to get you back to bed. You need all the energy you can get.”

A smile crosses the slumped over woman’s face. “You’re too kind. Thank you again, little one.”

~~~~~~~

It’s late evening by the time you finally arrive at Yuka’s shop. You now fully realize why Patchouli had the four of you driven when you visited last time. She never would have survived that walk.

The shop itself seems largely undamaged, excluding the obviously smashed in window on the door, and the police tape wrapped around said door. You spend several minutes searching around the front of the store for any clues that might have been missed by police. Seems that luck isn’t with you in that there’s nothing that you can identify as being a clue out front. That means that there’s only one thing left to do. You’ve to get inside that store and see if you can find anything. Stepping up to the door you swallow hard. Since the police are gone, you don’t think that there could be anything harmful inside, but you’d also be trespassing on a crime scene. That’s not really a good idea either, but you need answers. Steeling your courage you go to reach through the shattered window on the door, when you see a light being cast on the inside. Shit, there’s someone else here! Leaping back from the door, you quickly run and hide behind a car parked nearby the front of the shop. From your vantage point you’ve an excellent view of the front of the store.

The door rattles a moment as it’s unlocked from the inside. Swinging open it reveals a young girl, about your age. Green hair, wearing a plaid vest and matching pants, she has a parasol and a flashlight tucked under one arm as she fiddles with a set of keys to re-lock the door. She’s obviously not a police officer, given that she seems to be sneaking around. With the dream from the train fresh in your mind, you wonder if you should reveal yourself to this girl, or if more could be learned by observing.

[ ] Reveal yourself
[ ] Stay hidden