Catching a thief

The moment Richie noticed Twilight's suspicion, his relaxed body went on alert, and his mind raced as he tried to come up with an excuse.

"Father, Richie wants to be a spy when he grows up." Richie went from sitting bolt upright to slumping lazily over the dining table again, his eyes half closed, like a little animal murmuring in its sleep.

Twilight stopped staring at Richie and let out a breath. He figured he must have been under too much stress lately, always letting his imagination run wild.

Richie was just a child who had said something offhand. Anya was the same way. Most likely, all children were like that.

Twilight reassured himself inwardly, assuming that all children were like the two he had adopted, always saying strange things.

Twilight felt troubled. Halfway through her meal, Yor noticed his distraction and suggested going outside to clear their heads.

The family of four stood on a small rise, watching the pedestrians come and go below. Anya and Richie sat on the railing, with Twilight supporting Anya and Yor holding Richie gently.

A soft breeze brushed their cheeks and ruffled their hair.

Anya watched the bustling pedestrians with sparkling eyes. Twilight hadn't felt this relaxed in a long time either, and the beautiful view made his lips part slightly.

"I never expected such a beautiful view on the outskirts of town," Twilight couldn't help remarking.

Yor hadn't stopped blushing. She said wistfully, "Actually, I don't come to this park very often. I only stroll around here now and then when I'm tired from work.

"When I think about how the things I do help all the different people living here, I feel motivated again right away.

"This place must be terribly boring! I'm sorry." As she finished, Yor suddenly remembered something. It wasn't lively here at all. Anya and Richie must have been bored.

Anya swung her little legs from the high railing. "Anya likes places without many people."

"So does Richie," Richie quickly agreed. He couldn't hurt his mother's feelings.

Yor beamed. "That's wonderful."

"People are like garbage," Anya said out of nowhere.

Twilight was taken aback. What kind of remark was that? "Where did you learn that?"

"From a cartoon."

Twilight said helplessly, "Well said, Anya. Never say it again."

Anya gave a quiet "Oh" in reply.

Sitting beside Anya, Richie waved his arms around, playing with her.

One moment, Richie launched a surprise attack on Anya's ticklish spots; the next, he gave her a little scare.

"Anya, if you fell from here, that would be a whole different story," Richie said with a wicked grin.

Anya refused to back down and tried to pull Richie's hair. Unfortunately, Twilight had an arm around her, and her stubby arms were a little shorter than Richie's, leaving his hair just out of reach.

"Richie, Anya has Father to protect her, so she won't fall. Heh heh." Anya wore that sinister little grin she got when she was enjoying the drama.

Richie felt a chilly gust sweep past, sending a shiver down his back. "Anya, what are you planning? Your big brother's scared."

Before Anya could make her move, a thief appeared on the street below, swaggering along shamelessly before snatching an old lady's wallet in broad daylight.

Without a second thought, Yor held Richie in one arm, grabbed her handbag with the other, and leaped over the railing.

Within two seconds, she had vanished from Twilight and Anya's sight, leaving only her cry hanging in the air: "You won't get away with this! Stop right there!"

As Yor flew past Anya and Twilight, she stirred up a powerful rush of air that blew a stray lock of hair above Twilight's forehead.

Yor's move left Twilight and Anya utterly stunned.

Resigned, Twilight picked Anya up and headed down to chase the thief. "No choice, then." He would have to go after the thief too.

Yor followed the thief into an alley, but he had already disappeared. She skidded to a halt and searched around.

Richie clung to Yor's neck in her arms. That had been one thrilling ride. Luckily, he didn't get motion sickness, or he might have thrown up his lunch.

Miss Yor's astonishing jumping ability put Australia's kangaroos to shame.

Seeing that the thief had escaped and Yor was about to be disappointed, Richie struggled to recall the plot. This time, he would help his mother catch the thief.

"Mother, leave this alley and go to the main street across from it."

Completely certain, Richie kept one arm around Yor's neck and pointed the way with the other.

Yor looked a little blank, unable to understand.

Richie had to explain. "Mother, I just saw the thief go that way. Hurry, or he'll get away."

Yor was a gentle, adorably airheaded yet sinister assassin, and she immediately believed Richie's words without questioning them.

Yor raced onto another main street with Richie clinging to her neck. He remembered that Anya had spotted the thief beside a cake shop in the story, but which person was the thief?

Twilight had reached the same street by then. Standing on a rise, he looked down over the crowd, silently apologizing. Did he blend into the crowd? Sorry, Miss Yor. There's really no finding him now.

In Twilight's arms, Anya looked down and worked hard to use her mind-reading ability.

The bustling crowd below was filled with a jumble of inner voices:

Oh no, I'm going to wet myself~

If only I could see a million Dalcs.

Wow, this is so cute.

Honestly, this child...

Ah! That man is so handsome...

Anya pushed her mind reading so hard that her CPU nearly fried. Dazed, she began to bleed from her nose.

Twilight noticed something was wrong with her. "Anya, why is your nose bleeding?" He quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped it clean.

Through her daze, Anya heard, Heh heh heh, that old woman was carrying so much money. This'll keep me going for a while.

Hearing the thief's thoughts, Anya pointed confidently at the cake shop. "Father, Anya wants cake."

Twilight was puzzled. "What? Didn't we just eat?"

Meanwhile, Yor carried Richie along the street, scanning her surroundings. Richie squeezed his eyes shut and began a targeted search for the thief's thoughts.

The enormous drain on his mental energy made his head throb. Almost at the exact moment Twilight spotted the thief, Richie found him too.

Richie pointed at the thief. "Mother, the thief's over there!"

Yor kicked into top speed once again.

Twilight also spotted the thief by the cake shop. Holding Anya, he leaped down and charged straight at him.

"With this much money, let's see what tasty things I should buy first," the thief planned gleefully.

Just as he was enjoying himself, a big, handsome man descended from the sky, carrying a little pink-haired girl.

In midair, Anya muttered excitedly, "Thief, where do you think you're going? Heave-ho, heave-ho-"

Twilight landed right on target, pinning the thief beneath his foot.

Twilight had barely lifted his foot off the thief when Yor came hurtling over with Richie in her arms and delivered another kick.

Everyone nearby gathered to watch, leaving Yor a little embarrassed.

She lowered her head shyly. "Mr. Loid, I'm sorry. I kicked him flying again."