Somewhere in the sky, a man walked off a ship onto the solid ground of an island. He was dressed in a sharp suit, made all the more luxurious by the golden light of the faraway city casting down upon it. The man took a deep breath and looked towards that same city with a smile on his face. Clearly, the creations of those with too much free time was downright overindulgent.

It was a clear night, unlike what Hokhin would usually expect, but it did no favors to the city itself in his eyes. He’d come here for a purpose and a team, and both of those were the utmost priority to him as of this moment. Fates willing, that was something that he would be able to do by the end of his stay here.

Hokhin walked towards that city, letting his long flowing hair trail behind him. The lights got closer, and that’s when the sounds set in. Casinos, as it turned out, were quite loud. Hokhin was showered in the music of the city as he let the streets guide him towards his destination.

The lights infiltrated his sight even with his eyes closed. That’s how he almost missed the pebble being thrown at him from a small child. Thankfully, he didn’t need to open his eyes to dodge the projectile. He looked at the child afterwards, smiling like he had a secret to keep.

Once the scamp had scurried off, Hokhin took a moment to ring up some old contacts at a telephone stand he had conveniently found. He let the small denomination fall into the machine and dialed up his friends’ numbers. As he had thought, they were all here finally, so he organized a meetup. It would be nice to see those faces again. Though, while he had the time to spare, he might as well head to another important location. He let his phone drop, not wasting a second more to talk with them. They’d be able to converse more once they actually met, but for now his focus was solely on one point, one specific point.

Specifically, he was headed towards that giant needle stuck into the ground known as ‘The Grand Spire’. What a testament to the bastard that ran it that it got even Hokhin mesmerized enough to stare at it. People crowded into the casino at the base of the spire, the sounds of machines spinning and people losing present throughout the whole building.

Like many other buildings on Grand Lasruay, he felt himself grow purple with disgust over the overly bright golden lights and colourings of the building. I’m going to bring this tower crumbling over him. Let it be a fitting end to that traitor.

He controlled himself, letting the colour fade form his skin. The thought of Roayl was the only thing that got him riled up like this nowadays. Instead, he stepped away from the skyscraper and turned to walk the streets. A few drops of water fell on Hokhin’s face, alerting him to the fact that it was about to begin raining again. He took that as a sign and found a nice tarp to sit underneath as he gathered his thoughts.

The place he’d chosen for this venture was probably not the best. Around the casinos and bars of Lasruay, numerous street vendors had set up their services. The aroma of the food that they fried up tingled Hokhin’s nose.

It’s been a while since I’ve tasted some fast food, I suppose. He made his way to the steaming stand. Waiting for the line to thin out before he could place an order of his own.

“Potato sandwich, no sauce, right?” the man working the stand said. He quickly wrapped the young woman’s meal up and handed it to her, taking the Leaves she paid with and stuffing them back into his pocket. Hokhin walked up to him and glanced around at the selection before placing his order.

“Simple sandwich,” he asked with a smile.

“Toppings, sauce, sides?”

“No, thank you.” He waited as the man prepared his “sandwich,” if he could even call it that. He used a single rectangular piece of bread in half as the base of the sandwich and filled it with all sorts of delicacies. Hokhin would have to get used to the kind of food they preferred eating in Lasruay, at least until his mission was complete.

“New around here?” the vendor asked Hokhin while working.

“Seems it’s not that difficult to tell,” Hokhin replied.

“Your clothes give it away. No one on Lasruay likes that sort of style. I know a good tailor, could fix you up some nice clothes.”

“No need, I’m actually quite fond of these,” he said, tugging at his suit. The rain overhead intensified and people started to crowd under the tarps that were hooked between buildings. The vendor shoved the finished sandwich in Hokhin’s face and he handed some Leaves in return.

He took a seat on one of the benches and looked towards the rain that fell in violent waves. The golden inviting light of the vendors and tarps contrasted with the blackness of the night sky and the grey clouds that covered it.

He threw the wrapper in his hand into one of the trash cans after finishing his meal. The food tasted nice and filling, though Hokhin wasn’t one to be picky about it. He stretched his limbs and walked out into the rain, letting it soak his clothes.

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He was overdue for some practice. And now seemed like the perfect opportunity for him to get some. It didn’t matter what kind of building he picked, since he wasn’t actually going to rob them. All he really wanted to do was check how rusty he’d gotten since his last venture.

He found one that suited his tastes immediately. It was away from the entertainment district, so it looked more functional than inviting with its dull windows and grey stone foundation. He walked towards the front entrance, testing the locks to see what kind they used. It was the standard sort, he figured after touching it.

He kept his tools on him at all times, just in case they might come in handy in situations like these. He put in the lockpick and messed around with it for a bit before finding purchase in the lock and prying it open.

Easy as always.

He then slipped on a plain blue mask he used to hide his appearance and went inside. His footsteps were the only things that gave away sound in the silent hallways of the building, apart from the drops of water falling off his clothes. Some dull looking lights still flickered overhead, guiding Hokhin through the rooms that he visited. That was until he saw a small device planted high up on the walls that he didn’t recognize. It was staring straight at him, still and lifeless on its stand.

Cameras, Hokhin cursed internally. Back in his prime, he didn’t need to deal with these sorts of devices, but they’d become all too prevalent during his time away from the life of a thief. He sped his pace up, ignoring the next cameras that caught sight of him.

He knew enough about the technology to understand that once they had his picture, it was going to be difficult to escape it. He should have realistically been using his abilities instead, but he felt as though he could get away with using just his wits.

He quickened his pace and ended up on the higher floors of the building. Conference rooms, kitchens, bathrooms passed him by as he looked toward finding the manager’s office. This seemed like a typical building used for management, so he was sure he’d find a manager’s at the end of one of the higher floors.

While he ruminated on it, a few men stepped in his path and stopped him.

“Whoever you are, seize immediately. This location is off-limits to civilians, so please turn back. If you don’t, I will be forced to resort to violence.”

The man was showing mercy to Hokhin. Sadly, he didn’t take it as seriously.

“I seem to have gotten lost in this building actually. Dreadfully sorry, my eyesight isn’t what it used to be. I’ll just take the exit behind you and be on my way.”

“That’s the manager’s office, not an exit,” the other guard replied dryly.

“Oh now, is it?”

He started walking towards them with intent. They levelled their guns at him, but he ducked into one of the larger offices before they could fire a shot. Hokhin crouched down low and kept the sound he made to minimum as he shuffled around the tables and stacks of paper.

They both entered the room at the same time, keeping close proximity as they aimed into the darkness. One of them was about to flip on the light switches, but Hokhin threw a pen at his hand to get his attention.

The guard forgot about the lights and fired into the darkness, illuminating Hokhin for only a second as he closed in on their position. He kicked away one of the guns out of the man’s hands and threw one of the stacks of paper at another. He then punched the disarmed guard in the gut—forcing him on his knees—then kicked him in the side of the head. The guard fell over, unconscious.

Hokhin ducked back into one of the cordoned off areas of the room just as a bullet zipped past his head and dug itself into the ground. He thought for a moment, then picked up a small book and threw it at another collection of papers on the other side of the room. They fell onto the ground and caught the attention of the guard, letting Hokhin run up to him.

The guard wasn’t as careless as he seemed, however, as he turned around fast enough to bludgeon Hokhin with his pistol. It broke his mask in several places and bruised his nose. Blood trickled down from it and the guard took the opportunity to grab Hokhin’s arms to stop his escape. He held them behind Hokhin’s back and tried pushing him against the wall.

He dropped his weapon in the process to do so, but kicked it away before Hokhin could make use of it. Hokhin pushed against the wall with his feet, daring to draw upon his powers, but he found a solution before being forced to. Still held with his arms behind him, he placed his feet on the desk and jumped up and over the man’s head.

He landed behind the guard who let go involuntarily. Hokhin kicked him in the stomach, pushing him back towards the desk and finished it off with a strong punch to the man’s face. He went limp and slid down onto the floor while Hokhin was left gasping for air.

Hokhin touched his nose and felt a sharp pain erupt from it.

This had better not ruin my career as an art model.

He walked out of the office and towards the manager’s room with a confident stride. He found that some sort of reader or scanner was attached to the door, preventing him or anyone else from going inside without the proper credentials. The pain coming from his nose was obscuring his thoughts, so he activated his powers to clear his mind. His body began to knit itself together. It also enhanced his senses to the point that he could hear the sounds of the police cars parked outside and the officers storming into the building itself.

Had he the time, he’d break the door off its hinges. But it seemed that his escapade had drawn much more attention than he had intended.

Perhaps I should work faster next time, He thought to himself as he took one of the chairs and smashed a window with it. He adjusted his mask so it wouldn’t fall off and jumped outside into the open night air.

Lightning cracked in the sky, leaving an image of Hokhin emblazoned as he escaped the building and the arrest of the authorities, as he had done many times in the past.