Lost opportunity (Open)

It was so easy. So easy to just reach over and grab it without anyone looking. Painfully easy, almost. By now he'd learned when that stupid shop-keep tottered out to smoke a cigarette, so avoiding him was easy. The employees were idiots too. Just some teenagers barely making minimum wage, and that wasn't enough to buy their attention. As it stood, the only things they were worried about watching were the clocks, not the kid at the back of the store carefully eyeing the merchandise. It was all so perfect. So easy.

So how had he screwed up so badly?

| 'Damnit!' | Jamie's jaw clenched tighter, his teeth grinding together as he rounded a corner. It was growing more distant now, but he could still hear the shop-keep and the help's shrill shouts of "Thief! Thief!". So he kept on running, desperate to put some distance between them.

What had they gotten so worked up about anyways? It wasn't as if he'd taken anything in the end. Much as he hated to admit it, they'd startled him, so he'd dropped what he'd been holding and bolted. Couldn't they just let it go? No. Of course not. Them and their misguided sense of morality. Who cared if he stole? What difference did it make? They'd only squander everything. Anything they had in that stupid shop would be better off with him since he knew its true value. It was painful to think that such incompetent people had somehow worked their way up the ladder to even a meager position like that; soon, they'd be running things, while the true geniuses, the most deserving, were pushed back down.

Jamie's ears perked as he heard a scream and muffled shouts of concern. He turned his head and saw the man roll on the ground, his employees crowding around him. So he tripped? | 'Serves 'im right.' | A victorious smirk stretched across his face as the boy turned his head back in the direction he was running, allowing himself to giggle. No doubt that stupid shopkeep would overdramatise the whole thing, now that his pitiable pride was broken. Much as he wanted to see the miserable expression the the man's face, Jamie kept going. For now, to escape being hauled in by whatever amounted to police here, or worse, get branded as a thief, it'd be wise to get away; there were always other places, other scores. You just had to know where to look.

Hachiro wandered around the Luimere District, it was a place he didn't visit often. He could tell that a few people eyed him as a mark here and there, but the he tried to keep the fact that he was aware of it hidden. You would think that Azores wouldn't have an island lagging far behind all the others. Sure Lunapa wasn't that much different, but it lacked the crime that this island had. Supposedly gangs caused a little trouble here, Hachiro would feel better when he got off the island, but he felt the need to explore a bit. His wanderlust led him here...probably not the best place, but it would work for the time being. The older man would stop at a bench and sit enjoying the lights and observing the people walking by.

Damn, he could use a smoke, but his idea of overcoming hardships stopped him from getting anymore cigarettes. It was hard quitting, he knew that he started after he began wandering back in Africa. It was a killer, it kept your mind off the more painful things. Like hunger, funds, and money for example. The nicotine drug your mind off to a cloudy place where you could relax and calm down a bit. You didn't have to worry about now, you could let your mind drift off as you blew smoke rings, and rested in the breeze. It wasn't such a bad feeling, but Hachiro didn't have any smokes on him nor anything to light it with. It helped him quit, if you didn't have it then you most certainly couldn't enjoy it. Granted, it was difficult to walk into a gas shop where they have stacks and stacks of cigarettes from companies like Marlboro. The adult man sighed as he looked up into the sky, and glanced around taking in the scenery.

"Get back here!"

With a sharp turn of his head that popped something in his neck, Jamie widened his visible eye at the teenager starting to run after him again. Damn, couldn't he just give up? What would be the point in dragging him back anyways? Just so he could gloat to his idiot of a boss? Pathetic.

Curling his lip back an letting out a soft "tch", the boy turned sharply at a corner, sorting through his current options. He couldn't keep this pace up much longer. The sudden ache in his head and the nausea and his stomach were enough to persuade him about that. So running all the way to another part of Standasen wasn't really an option. That meant he had to find somewhere to hide, and fast. It didn't seem like that would be very easy right now, though. There were people around, yes, but not enough to get lost in. Since this was such a small district and, consequently, not a lot of buildings, ducking into an alleyway wouldn't really help him either. Agh, damn, out of all the places to get spotted, why did it have to be this cramped little shopping area?

Jamie didn't dwell much longer on his choices. He could practically feel that damned employee rounding the bend, and he had to do something, or risk getting caught and hell knows what done to him. Skidding to a stop near a bench and, consequently, a rather large man sitting on it, the boy grinned widely and held a finger to his lips for quiet just before ducking and crouching behind the man just as his pursuer ran around the corner.

"The hell are you, you little...!"

Ah, there he was. Just in front of his hiding place. Peeking through the slits in the wooden bench, Jamie watched as the teen came to a stop and peered down the street, apparently searching for him. When that was unsuccessful, the young employee spun around and stomped back the way he came. He stayed silent the whole time, but Jamie couldn't help but smirk at the poor posture and balled up fists; he really did look like a fool with his face all twisted up like that. Almost like a monkey. | 'How fitting.'|

"...Thanks mistuh." The boy stood up and came around the front of the bench, linking his hands behind his back and rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. Smiling widely, if not devilishly, Jamie added, "Ah don't really know wut 'is problem is, but moy big brotha don't like me goin' 'round 'is work, see? Makes 'im real mad. Ends up chasin' me all 'round, 'e does!" He took a moment to fold his arms and pout childishly before smiling again. "But thanks tuh you, I gots to see 'im without gettin' in trouble!" With a big cheer, Jamie threw his arms up high in the air.

It was a stupid little act. But it had gotten him out of trouble dozens of times before. The more people thought he was just an innocent child just having fun, the easier it made Jamie's life. So for now, he didn't mind at all putting on this little show. Anything to keep him floating in this disgusting city just long enough for him to get everything he wanted.

Hachiro was lost in his thoughts when suddenly a boy used him to hide his presence, the boy placed a finger over his lips to indicate that Hachiro shouldn't reveal him. He turned his head back when he heard someone's hurried footsteps rounding the corner. True to his word, the adult would not reveal the child's location. He watched a teen come around the corner look around and curse aloud, obviously the boy had done something he wasn't supposed to. When the teen's back was turned around, Hachiro turned his head and he saw the boy smirking. Apparently proud of evading this pursuer; the wanderer turned his head back toward the teen that stormed off. Moments later the boy came around with his hand behind his back, and rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. The boy had a story about how that was his brother, who didn't like him coming around his work. It was a fairly convincing story that held some weight, and was meant to play on emotions.

Unfortunately for the boy, Hachiro was apathetic to such things, and he was most certainly wasn't born yesterday. Ironically, this played to his strength in this situation more than anything else. The older man cocked a slightly amused eyebrow at the young boy. "That's a good sob story. Would have moved anyone else to tears, bad news for you is the fact that I wasn't born yesterday." The older man would say, with only a brief pause to indicate that the boy should drop the act before continuing. "Good news, is that I've been in your shoes before so I'm not going to report you. What's your name kid? The real one, I'm not in any mood to play a game of Clue." Normally, he wouldn't be so harsh or serious. However, the fact that the boy already tried to lie to him didn't set a good tone for this conversation. However, he was cordial enough to pat the spot on the bench next to him. An invitation for the boy to sit down a bit, and rest his feet.

The bigger question is what drove this boy to attempt to commit this crime? What hardships was the boy facing in his life at this young of an age. Perhaps, the boy needed some encouragement or a challenge to face these hardships head on. If he did, then perhaps then the boy could change his ways and not have to steal. Why did Hachiro want to do this? Well, it was just part of his person, often times he would challenge various patrons at the bar to give up drinking. Some took it to heart, while others would slam their glass on the bar and ask for another round. Hachiro would provide them that round, reminding them of his challenge. Perhaps it takes a certain kind of person to overcome their hardships, was this boy that kind of person?

...Who the hell did this guy think he was? Calling him out on his act...and on what grounds? Just because he felt like it or because he thought it was the "right" thing to do? Pretentious idiot. His tone was much too condescending for Jamie's taste. He was just like all the other idiots wandering around this stupid place, thinking that they were all that. And why? Probably because he had some extra cash to burn or lived somewhere better than this slum. Tch. Typical. As the man kept going on about how he wouldn't call the police (how generous) and he'd "been in his shoes" (presumptuous moron! What did he know?), the boy's smile fell from his face, shifting into what looked like a wounded frown. Jamie shifted his gaze to the ground, wiping the back of his hand across his nose. He wasn't hurt, of course--in fact, he was rather pissed off at this man's attitude--but it was better to play up the fact that he looked so young. If he was lucky, this guy would fall for the display and get off his damn case.

"...I 'ate Clue anyways." Resting his palm on the seat, Jamie hopped up on the bench and sat on the backrest. This way, at least this man couldn't look down at him. Instead, he had to look up to see Jamie's face. "I bettah be gettin' yor name too, mistuh! Ain't fair to give somethin' 'n get nothin'!" Jamie fixed the man with a challenging stare. He'd like that name for later, so he knew exactly who he needed to gloat at when he finally reached that pinnacle of success. But this idiot didn't need to know that. The next moment, the young boy turned to face the streets, eyes downcast as he finally gave a reply. "Y'can call me Jamie."

He didn't care that he'd just given this man his real name. giving him an alias just might piss him off, and the only thing worse than an moron was an angry moron. Fools had this tendency to make his life hell if he made them angry enough. For now, he'd play along, and keep up this little remorseful child act. The sooner he did, the sooner he could make a break for it, and the sooner he could go back to work.

Hachiro watched the boy hope onto the bench forcing him to raise his head to see the boy. Did he feel inferior from the previous position? Oh well, that's his problem, not Hachiro's. The boy looked hurt or wounded by the adult calling him out on his act. Whatever, it was a really silly thing to be upset over. If someone looked at his situation compared to others, they would say the boy had it bad, but others had it far worse. The boy commented on how hated Clue too, well that was certainly something that they seemed to share. The boy however demanded that he get something in exchange for giving Hachiro his name, granted that boy was in no position to make such demands, seeing how Hachiro could easily pick him up with little trouble. He gave the boy a nod in response to that challenge.

"Nice to meet you Jamie, I'm Hachiro. Now I'm going to do my best to skip the, same lecture you would hear from any responsible adult, and just get straight to my point. What drove you to steal? Hunger, a sick mother or father perhaps?" The older man would inquire, he was being very to the point. Mostly because he figured a caught thief was likely to run the first chance he got. It was what he did back in Turkey when he got caught one time, he managed to dodge the pursuing police force by going into the rougher part of town. From there it just got to the point of outlasting the cops until they lost their nerve around the various gangs or outlaws around those parts. Granted, he became a target after that since he got away with goods.

The reason why the adult wanted to know the "why" behind the boys action was so he could challenge the boy. Given the earlier challenge this boy seemed to like a difficult task or two. Therefore, the adult would throw a challenge right back at him. Who knows, perhaps this boy could prove his theory right. Granted, this is assuming the boy was using theft as a means to overcome a hardship he was suffering. If not, then perhaps he was simply an exception, and not a rule? It might be interesting if his theory had to change.

”‘Ey! I didn’t steal nuthin’!” Puffing out his cheeks indignantly, Jamie turned his gaze back to the man—“Hachiro”, he said his name was—and furrowed his brows. “Just ‘cuz I was bein’ chased don’ mean I stole!” There, make him feel guilty for accusing a child of a crime. And on zero evidence, no less! It wasn’t as if that employee was shouting why he was chasing Jamie around, and the fact that the boy wasn’t carrying anything was one less reason to suspect him of anything. “Hachiro” was just jumping to conclusions. Jamie folded his arms and huffed. “This moight be the bad poht’a town, but don’ ahsume all a’ us ah a buncha bad kids mistuh Ahchurro!” With that he began to sulk, resting his elbows on his knees and staring moodily at the building across the street.

What was this idiot after? Did he want Jamie to “repent” or some other nonsense? Swear to be a “good” little boy? Tch. It made Jamie sick. In the past year, he’d gotten caught more times than he could count--much to his chagrin--but it had made him smarter, better, and made everyone else so much easier to predict and placate. Everyone had the same “you don’t have to do this” or “don’t end up like this” or some other such drivel-filled speech all prepared for “wayward children”. Why should he listen to them? In the end, they were just morons with no weight, no say, no status, nothing! Why should they give him advice? So he could turn out to be just like them, penniless, unwanted, unsuccessful, at the bottom of the food chain for the rest of his life? No. Never. He’d never sink that low. Nothing that they said could change him. But he gave them grins and swore to be the little angel they wanted, because it shut them up. It worked every time, and this new nuisance would be no different. Whatever this man had to say to boost his own ego, Jamie would let him say…but after he gave promises and smiles to this idiot, he’d be gone, and hopefully wouldn’t have to deal with any more of these conversion speeches for a long while yet.

Hachiro watched the boy puff out his cheeks, apparently he had upset the boy. He claimed that he didn't steal anything, and that just because he was being chased didn't mean he stole anything. That was true, but it did mean he did something. His ploy to make Hachiro feel guilty would fall on deaf ears. The man became apathetic to the world and people's pleas a long time ago. Only if he became genuinely interested in someone would he actually care. Thus far this boy had managed to dodge questions, and annoy him somewhat. However, he should have expected this, people never took kindly to his challenges or attitude at time. Evidently, the boy was going to be one of those people. Now he really wish he had that smoke, at the bar he could hand them another glass and that usually solved the problem. This boy.....well he was going to be a hard case.

"Alright, you got me there. I don't know that you actually stole, it was a theory I had based off seeing the clerk's uniform. However, you did something that caused a person to chase you. Normally, and adult doesn't go around chasing a kid like you around without a reason. Now I don't care what you did, I care about the why you did it. Maybe I can help you out a bit." If it had something to do with value or stealing, then he might get the answer here. The adult had been in the boys shoes before back in...Nigeria. He got caught, and managed to out run most of the people around there. Except one determined little punk, who caught up to him. Hachiro needed the food, and the punk wanted cash. Needless to say it ended in a short fist fight, which came to an end when the wanderer broke the punk's arm. The kid was determined, which is why Hachiro had to be so extreme. He had to teach the boy a lesson of what would happen if he kept pursing Hachiro. The wanderer shook his head, and rubbed his eyes a bit. He couldn't forget how the boy screamed in pain, well some would say that it is survival of the fittest.

Oh, fantastic. Hachiro wasn't even showing a glimpse of pity or guilt. Well, there goes plan A out the damn window. It looked like this little obstacle wouldn't be over in a flash like some of the others had been. Well then, might as well go all out at this point and take his time with whatever persona he cooked up. Jamie found it tedious and boring to have to craft such a tale, but if it would mean this bear of a man would get off his back, so be it.

As Hachiro spoke, Jamie folded his arms and looked away, trying his best to look pointedly disinterested. He had studied lots of the other urchins in this city, and one thing that all had in common was a stubborn streak with a dash off excessive pride. The look he wore matched theirs perfectly, appearing to any like a child trying to be grown-up and obstinate but really hanging on the adult's every word. Slowly turning to look at the man once more at some cock-a-mamie line about "helping him a bit", the boy gazed at him with his one bright blue eye, as if gauging whether or not he could be trusted before he spoke. "Why wud ja care 'bout why I did or didn' do sumin', mistuh? Wut's in it fuh you, eh?" Perfect. He'd delivered that line with just the right mixture of guardedness and curiosity, a tone he'd heard all the other dirt-poor children in Standasen use much too often. Although, he had to admit, it had its uses.

It was tempting to wait for a reply and see just what kind of self-righteous fool this Hachiro was, but if there was a time to try and play on whatever emotions this brick wall had left, this was it. He let out a dry snort, narrowing his eye. "Sorreh if ah seem a bit untruhstin' or sumtin', but 'is all thanks thanks to sum paypul that I gots this." Resting a hand over the patch covering his right eye, Jamie turned away again for a moment, as if he needed time to compose himself. Well, he did, but not because he was recalling why he wore the eye patch. Rather, it was to control the urge to yell at the man who didn't even have the decency to pay attention to his damn story. Hachiro was sitting there, plain as day, daydreaming and rubbing at his eyes. Oh, great. Tie up his precious time with some "noble" words and dangle the police threat in his face, and then this idiot goes and practically falls asleep when he was actually given a semblance of an answer. What, did he think that he should hear this story when it was convenient for him, or when he was good and ready? Bastard. He probably thought that being older and richer gave him the authority to brush Jamie off if he wanted. At this point, Jamie was thoroughly disgusted at the time he had to spend catering to this imbecile, but he couldn't risk run now. For all he knew, Hachiro might get mad enough to actually call the authorities. No, it it wasn't worth the risk. Sickening as the thought was, he was going to have to stay just a little longer and wait for the perfect opportunity to present itself.

Hachiro noticed how Jamie got disinterested as he spoke, quite the stubborn little brat wasn't he? Then again one could argue that living in poverty or bad parts of town could do that to you. You claim people don't know your point of view, and that they would do the same if they were in your shoes. The wanderer had heard that one before to say the very least. The boy began to actually pay attention when Hachiro mentioned that he could help the boy out. Had he finally gotten the boy's honest attention? If only for a second. This boy was quite good at shifting attitudes and stories it was evident that he had some experience, granted if he was good at that; he was better at dodging questions. The boy still hadn't asked his persistent question, it was somewhat irritating. However, Jamie did ask why he wanted to know. Well at least they were getting closer to the answer this time around, instead of some other trail of tears. However, the boy did explain that his eyepatch was the reason why he didn't trust the older man.

"Call it curiosity, I suppose. I like to challenge people to change if I find their motive rather lacking. Which in most cases tends to be true. Say you were addicted to drinking because a girl dumped you or something of that nature, I'd challenge them to face the source of that addiction. In that case it would be getting dumped. I do this to a lot of people, even those who are richer than me. Heck, I had to do it in order to get off smoking cigarettes. Now as for your lack of trust...." The man would say trailing off as he rolled up his sleeve. On it was a long cut mark that had become a scar as time moved on, it was slightly faint, indicating it was made a long time ago. Then he rolled the sleeve back up, and lifted his pant leg slightly. There were scars of a bite mark, that looked fresher than the other scar.

"Not trusting people is smart, you have a good head on those shoulders of yours Jamie. I got one of those scars simply because some kid with a machete decided that I wouldn't have it in me to fight someone armed. The dog bite, I got when I was forced to work in blood diamond mining." He would explain pausing briefly before continuing, "The human heart is a scary thing Jamie. People kill and teach kids younger than you to use AK-47 to advance their goals. Human nature can be a nasty thing at the base, so I don't blame you for being cautious."

Oh, so now he was saying he was nosy? First he wants to help, now it's to sate his own curiosity...tch. Would this idot make up his damn mind already so Jamie would know what to feed him? It was people ike this who made his life so much more complicated than it had to be. Sometimes they just didn't know when to leave it alone. ...What was this now? Drinking and women? Feh, well, now the boy knew exactly where Hachiro's interests lay. He apparently spent most of his time in bars, pushing his way into people's lives when he had absolutely no reason to. Jamie's jaw tightened considerably at the thought, but he managed to keep his gaze carefully curious, as if he was actually starting to warm up to this man. Oh, if Hachiro only knew, he'd be in for such a surprise, wouldn't he?

| What the... | The boy didn't even have to force his eyes to widen at the little display he received. Why on Earth would this man show him those? Was he trying to make Jamie sick? Or shock a poor child into listening to him, or looking up to him like a hero? What a pathetic tactic. The sad thing was, most of the other idiots in this town would've done exactly that, supplying Hachiro with pity and sympathies galore. All because of some stupid scars? ...Hm. Maybe this man wasn't quite as stupid as Jamie thought he might be. It wasn't quite up to Jamie's standards, but at least Hachiro was attempting something more up the boy's alley. Maybe he was catching on.

Jamie flicked his eyes back and forth between the now covered machete scar and Hachiro's gaze. Finally he swallowed thickly and pressed his lips into a thin, straight line, as if debating with himself about something. "Mistuh, woy shud ah trust you then? Wot's ta say thatcha won' do sumthin' ta me then, 'eh?" Jamie leaned back a bit from the man, as if expecting the man to give him a wound that would turn into a scar just like one of his. Now, let's see what he'd do.

Perhaps it was a mistake to show a young boy his scars, but it proved his point. The world is a nasty place and you can't trust many people. The boy paid more attention after seeing the scars, apparently that had caught his attention. Not many people like to see his scars, which is why he always wears such concealing clothing. He isn't exactly looking for pity, rather he just wanted to show people that the world was rough out there. If they think losing their girlfriend is their biggest problem, well they need to wake up and take a look around. There were kids like Jamie, who were out on the street committing crimes to get by, or missing an eye apparently. Some kids don't even get a single meal a day and get a slice of bread if they're lucky. Others have their hands cut off, or are shot because some random guy with a gun decided it would be fun.

The boys eyes shifted from his wound back to his gaze, and then it looked as though he was thinking about something. Eventually he voiced it as why should Jamie trust him. It was a good question and he had every right not to. Not trusting people was an idea that Hachiro knew very well, he had experienced reasons to not trust people. "Just because I had run ins with the scum of this earth, doesn't mean I'm like them. I'm not exactly on for vengeance, that just seems to promote more darkness in the human heart. You don't have to worry about me doing anything like that to you because I'm not a sadistic monster, I don't train or recruit child soldiers, this society doesn't accept it or promote it, and we're in a public place. Nor did I ever intend or want to harm a kid who looks as though he's from the school of hard knocks." The adult would say looking at the child again, he couldn't help, but feel as though the child was trying to trick or toy with him. His questions and attitude seemed to change quite rapidly, but he had no physical or real proof of this. Was this boy trying to test him? Who knows, and the better question is did Hachiro care? No, not really. Why should he? Let him play his games, he won't get much that mattered to Hachiro. Sure he brought up the fact that he challenged people to make them improve themselves as people, but that was a minor side project. The man was just living life as it came to him.

Big words. They matched his ego perfectly. Finally, Jamie had some kind of idea of how to categorize Hachiro.

This was a man who had crawled through this disgusting world and finally worked himself to some meager status somewhere, scraping out a living. Now, becasue he'd gotten out of that hell of poverty and done something petty with his life, he felt like a regular hero. Now it was his job to lift other such "poor souls" from those pits and push them to be what he consdiered a satisfactory individual, it seemed.

Pretentious. Idiotic. Prideful.

Now he had an idea of how to play this to his advantage.

A hesitant smile twitched at Jamie's lips as the boy feigned relief, relaxing the limbs that had stiffened with his fearful act. "Glad tuh 'ear it mistuh." Exhaling slowly, as if gathering his nerves, Jamie stood and hopped off the bench, landing on his toes with his arms stretched out. A silly, boyish grin dominated his features as he spun around to beam at Hachiro, linking his fingers behind his back and tilting his head cutely. "I fnk 'nuff's been said, yeah? Ya seem prutty decen', mistuh 'Achurro. Fer now, ah'll trust ya." Suddenly his joy melted away. One thin finger placed itself on Jamie's bottom lip as he blinked curiously at the large man.  "You was askin' me sumfink earliah, weren't ya, mistuh? Sorry 'bout tha. I clean fergot." The digit trailed up to his head and tapped twice to accentuate his words. "Wut was it again?"

Humming slightly in thought, the boy closed his eyes and folded his arms, as if trying to recall what Hachiro had been trying to wheedle out of him before.

Hachiro watched the boy relax a bit after being informed that the wanderer had no intentions of harming him. Well at least now they were done jumping through rings of fire, did he even want the answers after all the work? It had grown a bit tiring, and the boy seemed to be rather tight lipped when it comes to details, perhaps now they could move away from the lack of trust. He watched the boy exhale and hop of the bench, was he leaving? That would be plain rude at this point, granted no doubt the boy relied more on flight than fight. His small stature and injured eye gave him a disadvantage in combat to say the very least. The boy tilted his head saying that he would trust Hachiro for now. "Well I'm happy to hear that, and thanks for giving me a chance." He would offer in reply, though the boy's face changed to one lost in thought.

Jamie asked about what Hachiro was asking him before, because the young boy had forgotten. Seems like this boy had a very short attention span. The adult nodded at the young boy, "I was asking about your motive for doing whatever action that pissed off that clerk that was chasing you. You don't have to tell me the action, just why you did what you did." Granted, in revealing why he did something may in turn reveal the crime. Part of him didn't expect to work, but if Jamie revealed why he did something then he may reveal his crime as well. Though Hachiro was more interested in the former than the latter.

"Oh! Thas roight!" The innocent grin brightened Jamie's features again as he tapped his open palm with a fist, seemingly pleased that he had been reminded of the question.

He hadn't forgotten of course. He knew full well what Hachiro had been asking. But he needed just a little time to conjour up his tale. The last thing he wanted was for this man to know he'd been trying to steal. If he said that, this "hero" would keep him detained for hell knows how long. That wasn't something Jamie could afford. His time was quite precious, after all. Not to mention that the other shops might close soon, and he still needed to "find" some things.

The child scratched at his cheek lightly as his features shifted to portray childlike confusion. "Motive? Ah dunno mistuh...'sit 'gainst the law to wanna lookit sumthin'? 'Cuz thas all I was doin'. Standin' in tha' shop an thinkin' 'ow noice it'd be to 'ave sum 'ah that stuff, y'know? Thas all. Jus lookin' at it, pretendin' for a sec that I was some well off kid." Jamie's cheeks flared with pink as he began tracing small circles on the ground with the toe of his shoe, focusing his eyes on his feet instead of Hachiro.

Things seemed to be going well so far. Now it was time to wrap up this little story of his.

"Ah guess the shopkeep though' I was gonna take sumthin', so 'e stahted chasin' me. Ah...ah didn' wanna say nuthin' 'cuz I though' ya moight make fun'a me or think ah'm ah lyah. Ahduls 'ere nevah behleave kids loik meh can be honest, y'know." Jamie poured as much embarrassment and worry as he could into the gaze he gave Hachiro.

Utterly perfect. Since straight up lies didn't seem to work with this man, Jamie had sprinkled half-truths throughout his story. Mix that in with his brilliant delivery and he was nearly positive that this fool would buy it, hook, line, and sinker. It shouldn't be too much longer now before he'd have the perfect moment to get away.