Three Mice Will Blind You

“She’s late!”

“She’s not late we’re early.”

Hyottoko threw down his hands indignantly.

“I know that but how else am I supposed to play the grizzled partner.”

“The what?”

“I’m the grizzled old criminal, and you’re the fresh newbie on the block. Together with an old friend from college, I’m showing you the ropes and stealing the Tokyo diamond right out from under their eyes.”

I hope he could tell that I was giving him a stupid look from under this mask.

“What on earth you talking about.”

“You said no jokes allowed, you didn’t say anything about scene work or bits.”

He turned to an invisible camera man, and motioned it to come closer.

“Everybody loves a good bit.”

He winked. I was going to hurt him.

“Shhh I think she’s coming.”

Meika appeared out of the darkness holding a file. I sighed in relief, at least she had found something.

“Alright Haruto, lets get out of here.”

He transformed us into mice. This time Meika was silver, I was bronze and Hyottoko was gold.

“kiki Kik-kik”

I was cursing him out in mouse. I hope there wen't any mouse children around. We began to file down the hallway and towards the exit. I held out my little mouse paw, mentioning for everyone to stop.

“I’m going to kill that man. We’re already behind and he still leaves me alone to finish the report.”

Vice-Captain Kirigaya turned the hallway. She had bags under her eyes. No sword at her hip, instead a satchel over one shoulder and a coffee cup loosely in the other hand. 

"He could at least have the decency to keep me company."

I stared up at her, trying to shimmy closer to the wall.

"Everybody is breathing down our necks, what could he possibly be doing."

She was huge, she was a giant lady that could step on us and squash our whole bodies. It wouldn’t kill us, it would just undo the chant. Then she would kill us. We were all dressed in black, except for Meika. That may buy us time, but time to do what?

She walked getting closer and closer.

“Kik-Kik”

The Meika mouse, pretended to roll up sleeves and did some boxing motions. Then shrugged. I nodded my little mouse head no, furiously. We did not want to fight, if anything we would scurry for our lives.

“Awww what are you three doing in here?”

As I was looking at Meika, Vice-captain Kirigaya had crouched down to look at us. Her giant face, breathing on to us her coffee breath.

“You three shouldn’t be in here.”

She reached out a finger, the golden mouse Hyottoko went up sniffed it, and nuzzled it into it.

“Aww what a cutie! You guys need to get out of here.”

I agreed with that. She put down her coffee cup, opened her satchel and scooped Hyottoko into her bag, Meika tried to run away, but the vice captain was quick. She already had me in her other hand and scooped us into her bag next to Hyottoko. He peeped his little mousy head out, the Vice-captain pushed his head back in with a finger and zipped the bag shut.

“Just stay put little guys.”

She kept walking, making her way further from the hole in the side of the building. As she walked, I stood on her wallet, Meika held me still as I worked the zipper open so I could peek out. She had walked down the hallway and emerged into the main lobby, walking down the stairs and passing the desk.

“Good night Vice-captain!”

“Goodnight boys.”

She gave them a little wave and was halfway toward the door. I was looking through the opening in the bag. The security guard’s sunglasses glowed.

“Vice-captain, I hate to do this but do you have anything in your bag?”

He got up, and opened the door to exit out of the security kiosk.

I turned to look at the other two mice, motioning with little fingers wiggling above my paw, we’re going to have to run.

Vice captain shrugged.

“Fine you got me, I found some low rank monsters who had made their way through the hole. I was going to let them out outside.”

“Vice-captain, from what I’m detecting that amount of essence does not belong to a low rank monster. I almost thought you were smuggling a high rank relic out.”

Essence began clumping around the security guard.

“What no they're just little metallic mice monsters?”

She turned to look down at her satchel, it was already open. The three of us mice were scampering for the door.

The security guard finished his chant transforming into a large minotaur like creature.

“Stop them!”

The security guards, started to chant while scrambling out from behind the desk, towards the confused Vice-captain.

“Kik-kik kiki!”

The Haruto mouse, motioned to us. He pulled out of nowhere the three relics he was juggling before. I guess he was still fond of relics.

He tossed me an insect like hammer, Meika received a cup full a desert looking substance, and Hyottoko kept for himself the glowing red rock he had caught between his legs minutes before.

“Kiki Kik-kik.”

Which I could only imagine was some poor joke about roasting them alive. Maybe if you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen. Was there a mouse-based fire pun I was missing. I was sure he would tell me if we got out of this unscathed.

He held the rock over his head as blasts of fire emerged from the rock. Meika also activated her relic, and a stream of green gelatinous dessert emerged spraying g a fountain of it all over the lobby.

I hoped they would be quick to follow me, as I raced towards the glass doors, and swung the hammer that was almost too big. A cicada like screech and then a large crash of broken glass, as the door I had hit and the ones on either side exploded.

“Aghhh is this pudding?”

The security guards had ducked to avoid the fire, and were now slipping into the gelatin on the floor. Motes of unsuccessfully chanted spells floating in the air.

The vice-captain was reaching for her sword, but she didn’t have it on her. She was also standing in the pool of dessert. If she lowered her friction she would just turbo slip.

“Aghhhh!”

Which she proceeded to do.

“Kiki-kik!”

I yelled for the other two and motioned to follow, we all dropped our relics, and scurried out of the broken doors and into the streets.

“Next time I’ll just let the president squash you!”

The vice-captain waved her fist in the air, but we were already out and onto the street.

With Haruto leading the way, we ducked down an alley way too skinny for humans. Emerging on the other side, dropping the transformation we became humans once again.

“Aww man what a rush!”

Haruto was jumping up and down.

“That was awesome girls. I totally flambéed those guys!”

So it was a flambé pun, one question answered.

“SHADOWCAT”

The large shadowy panther that was Meika’s first spell emerged.

“We’re not done yet, lets go!”

I climbed on behind Meika. Who then turned to Hyottoko.

“Uhm sorry Haruto there’s only room for two, do you have enough essence for one more transformation?”

“Certainly my dear! Safety first!”

He leaped into the air.

“TRANSFORMATION”

A different name than he said before but hopefully Meika wouldn’t noticed. I don’t think she would care as she was now holding a motorcycle helmet; shaped to have cat ears on top.

“Sick dude. Haruto I’m sorry I ever called you weird.”

She put on the motorcycle helmet, and us cat burglars disappeared into the night, the red lights of the MaMA’s alarm system going off for the second time that week.

I rested my head against Meika’s back.

I felt bad about betraying the Vice-captains trust in monsters, but now thanks to my friend and my brother’s incompetence in hiding his secrets. I was ending the day with much more information on my dad’s disappearance.

Well I guess he wasn’t that incompetent, he had done for it years. That was something he was never going to forget.

I would make sure of it. That was a little sister's creed.