DECEPTION (Female Reader) [SAKAMOTO DAYS]

2: "Brutalized"

Using the tractor, with Osaragi guiding me on enemy movements, I sped ahead until I reached the hideout: a mansion with a clearly visible gate from a distance.

I parked the tractor in the bushes near the mansion, and we both disembarked to plan our next move. 'Should we approach stealthily or go in aggressively?'

Essentially, her plan is for me to be the decoy while she steals and retrieves her family heritage. My job is to keep the guards occupied until she's finished and we can escape together. I agreed to the plan because, in return, she promised to let me stay at her place for a few days, which seemed like a good deal.

"Before we begin, may I know your name?" Osaragi asked.

Given the circumstances, it wouldn't be surprising if she expected me to vanish soon. I figured it was best to reveal my name before things took a turn for the worse.

"Designation 'Puppet.'" I said, not even thinking about hiding my real name. 'Was it a sign of my trust issues, or something else entirely?'

We began our roles. I knocked on the front door while Osaragi slipped in through the back. The big man who answered the door said, "This is no place for a little lady..."

I responded with a lie. "I'm a Phantom Thief, here to steal hearts and bring some charm! May I come in and make things better?" I bowed like a prince, but the man groaned and told me to leave.

Before the big guy could shut the door, I quickly stopped it with my foot and slipped inside. "What the fuck!?" he exclaimed in shock as he started chasing me through the halls like a cat after a mouse.

He was astonished by how fast I ran, almost like an Olympic sprinter or a ninja, though I wasn't at full speed. As I darted through the halls, I spotted an alarm system. Seizing the opportunity, I threw an expensive vase from a nearby decorative table at it.

The alarm blared as planned, and soon the entire group converged on my location, ready to attack and ambush me.

"Two, four, six..." I whispered as I counted them. "Forty of you?"

"Ugh, what a pain in the neck! All these tricks are exhausting!"

I tilted my head in confusion. "Tricks? All I did was run..."

"How annoying!" I looked up to see an elderly woman descending the stairs. "Let me guess, you're here to retrieve this heritage from the farm?" I glanced at what she was holding: an oddly colored chicken.

'Osaragi's one of the family heritages...a chicken? But wait, that color on its feathers... I've never seen a chicken like that before... What a weird world we live in...'

"You're quite the stubborn one, breaking in just to get this chicken back for your killer friend?"

'What a grouchy old lady... But what did she mean by "killer friend"?' I wondered, tapping my chin in thought.

*
She leaned closer, tucking her dark hair behind her ear. "A group of criminals attacked and stole a piece of family heritage from that barn. They've fled, and I don't think they're far. I need to catch up with them."
*

"O-oh..." I stammered, considering the theory I'd just come up with.

'I'll ask her about it later. For now, I need to handle these guys.' I glared at the men closing in on me.

The grouchy old lady, clearly irritated by my disrespectful gesture, snapped her fingers and commanded, "Get her! Bring that bitch to me!"

"Hehehe..." one of the men chuckled. "We're supposed to bring her to the boss alive, right? How about we have a little fun with her first?"