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. Your head nods a few times and the next thin you know you’re being rocked 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.

“This is the last stop.”

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. I‘d like to get home before midnight.”

Stumbling to your feet you shuffle off the train while the conductor who threw you off grumbles something about homeless people and damn kids. 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.

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