“Pocket watch?” Selena asked. “Was it a repair job, or did they sell it to you?”

“Sold it. He really wanted me to pay equal to how much he got it for, trying to sell it as a Clockwurk’s brand watch when it's clearly a fraud. He played it off like he didn’t know, but, well…” Without finishing his sentence, he tapped his right ear.

“Go figure,” Selena said, turning to Kyle. “You wouldn’t happen to know what happened to it, would you?”

“Me? No, I didn’t touch anything.”

Markus grunted. “You sure about that?”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I can hear you’re lying.”

“I’m not lying! I mean it, I didn’t steal anything. If you think you can hear something, you need to get your ears checked.”

“Selena,” Markus said, tapping his right ear with a finger once again.

“Seriously…?” Selena’s shoulders sank as she turned to Kyle. She held out a hand and beckoned. “Come on, hand it over.”

“What? You too now?”

“Don’t make this difficult,” she pleaded. “Nobody likes a thief, especially one that’s bad at lying.”

“Why do you assume I stole something?  I just came here to sell some stuff because I needed the money, and that’s all I did. Really, I’m not a thief and I’m not lying!”

What is going on with these two? They were totally chill a moment ago!

“Well, that’s as clear as day to me,” Markus said, making his way from behind the counter. “I don’t wanna do this the hard way, son. Either give it back, or I’m taking my money back for the weird paperweight, too.”

“They’re not weird! Or a paperweight!” Kyle protested. “And I’m not giving you anything back!”

“Selena,” Markus said with a nod. “If you wouldn’t mind?”

“I do mind, actually. But alright…” With that, Selena gripped Kyle’s left arm and tried pulling him back into the store.

“Woah!” Kyle recoiled, pulling back and tumbling through the doorway. Selena lost her grip on his sleeve, and Kyle took that opportunity to turn and begin running. They’re not gonna listen to me, no matter how many times I tell them, are they? What happened? They really went from friendly to hostile on a dime!

Kyle headed back up the street in the direction he’d come. There was a motorcycle with a sidecar sitting in the middle of the sidewalk, and he kept his footing steady as he used it as a springboard to keep running.

“Hey, watch it!” Selena shouted, quickly sprinting after him.

Oh man, can’t she just let me go? I know I always wanted cute girls to chase after me someday, but not like this!

Kyle caught a glimpse of the newspaper stand from earlier as he sprinted past, but couldn’t make out what was shouted at him as he raced by. He glanced behind him, checking to see if any cars were using the road. The coast looked clear, but he could see out of the corner of his eye that Selena wasn’t falling behind, even in her high heeled boots.

She mentioned chasing down thieves before, but she’s way too used to this.

Checking that the road ahead of him was clear as well, Kyle changed direction, heading out into the wide street. The road was wide enough for cars to park on either side, and still allow for two cars to drive past each other with ample room. The sound of high heeled boots didn’t let up, and he willed his legs forward, faster, despite the burning he knew he was about to endure.

His chest began to tighten again, each breath growing more shallow than the last. He did his best to push out the feeling, replacing it with a mental visualization of his lungs being filled with oxygen. Mind over body, keep pushing beyond your limits! Just like in sophomore year, I finished that race without my inhaler; this is nothing!

His head was filled with determination to not let his asthma bring him down, but Selena was gaining now. He leaped onto the curb and kept running. Maybe I can lose her around the corner?

Just as he thought that, he heard the sound of a body hitting the floor. He stopped himself from turning around to see what had happened, but could make out the sound of Selena cursing as she must have tripped on the curb. Sorry Selena, but I’ll take all the lead I can get!

He was quickly coming up on the hotel at the corner of the street now. That’s when he realized the squad of armed men from earlier were still there, and were still hounding people to give them room. He took the initiative and dropped back into the street as he ran, forgetting to check for traffic.

“Officer Depure!” Selena bellowed. Kyle glanced to his left as he rounded the corner and saw her, back on her feet and closing the distance again. What he didn’t see was someone dart out from the armed crowd he had tried to avoid, and quickly grappled him, pulling him into the air.

“Woah!” Kyle shouted, his feet flailing. “Let me go! Hey!” He struggled against his captor, throwing his head back in an attempt to hit their face. His attempts were weak, and the most he did was get tickled by a bushy mustache.

“Where do you think you’re heading in a rush? Is the master calling?” the officer said. He was at least a foot taller than Kyle, towering above him even more than Tony did. His broad shoulders and thick arms clamped down around Kyle, wholly preventing him from moving his own arms. Kyle’s chest began to feel the pressure, next.

“Stop, you’re hurting me! Damnit, let me–”

“You can set him down, Depure.” Selena had arrived, waving to the officer. “I just want him to hand back what he stole.”

“You’re really doing this again?” the officer asked, without so much as a hint of trouble as he continued to hold Kyle in the air. “I’ve told you to stop playing cop, Selena. You’re not one of my officers. I don’t care how many street fights you’ve been in or pickpockets you’ve caught, this isn’t your job. And you don’t get to make requests to me, much less orders!”

“I don’t want to hear that from you. Not after I just helped catch another would-be thief!” she shot back. “Now put him down before you break something.”

The officer grunted, but instead of listening, he turned and walked back to the group of officers. Kyle could see all of them smirking and making jokes, gesturing towards him. There must have been about eight of them, other than the one carrying him. 

When he finally dropped Kyle, the officer immediately pressed him against the rear of one of the black cars parked in front of the hotel, pulling his arms back. Kyle didn’t have time to appreciate the 1920’s convertible aesthetic of the vehicle as he was handcuffed, his face pressed against the cold metal.

Is this really how my first day in another world is gonna go? First I get my bag stolen from me while I sleep, then I stoop so low as to steal from a kind shop owner, before I get falsely accused of stealing from a different shop and get arrested for it? What rotten fate is this? This isn't how being isekaied is supposed to go!

“So what did he steal?” the officer asked, all but ignoring Kyle.

“Markus said it was a pocket watch that someone had just sold him. Our friend Kyle here lied to Markus's face about it, and I was asked to bring back the ill-gotten goods.”

“Hah!” the officer laughed. “He lied to someone with veracious hearing? That’s some karma right there.”

“Some what hearing?” Kyle managed, his mouth still pressed against the car. “And let me go damnit, you’ve cuffed me already!”

“Officer Depure, you’re going a bit overboard for a petty thief,” Selena chided.

The officer tsked and pulled Kyle upright before moving him over a few steps to the sidewalk. He placed a hand on Kyle's shoulder and shoved downwards, pushing him to the curb. “Fine, you deal with him then.”

“Ow! Are you trying to break something?” But the officer didn’t reply as he walked past, shouting at some onlookers to keep moving.

Selena crouched in front of Kyle. She didn’t seem fazed at all by the chase, even though there was a new patch of red on her face, likely from when she’d tripped on the curb; it was lightly abraded, but not bleeding. Kyle kept his eyes glued to his feet, unable to meet her gaze.

“Which pocket are you hiding the watch in?”

“I told you already, I don’t have it!”

“Markus heard you lie. There’s no hiding that fact.”

“Well he heard wrong, then! And what does that even mean, ‘hearing’ that I lied?”

“Markus has a Gift. If he hears someone tell a lie, he knows.”

“A Gift?” Kyle’s head jerked up at that. “What, you mean like magic?”

“Huh?” Selena raised an eyebrow as Kyle shook his head. “...You’re not playing dumb, are you? How have you gone this long in your life without meeting someone with a Gift? Does your master not have one?”

“I don’t know, maybe that was my Gift? Going so long without meeting other Gifted folks.” Kyle let out a pathetic chuckle between deep breaths. Or maybe my Gift is the curse of asthma.

Selena coughed, stifling a laugh. “Not funny! But seriously… If you really don’t know, then... well, some people are born with a supernatural Gift. Markus hears lies, and you experienced Officer Depure’s vice-like grip just now. Once he grabs a hold of something, there’s no getting free until he lets go. There’s no casting or chanting like in those fairytales, no spells or anything like that. People with Gifts are… just Gifted.” She shrugged as she finished, looking past Kyle as a commotion began. The officers began shouting and forming a barrier as a crowd started to form, eager to get closer to the hotel. They didn’t seem to be paying the butler or maid any attention, though.

“What about you? What’s your Gift?”

“Not everyone is so lucky,” she replied with a solemn smile. “Some of us make do without one.”

“Oh. I'm sorry for assuming,” Kyle said. “Look… What did I say earlier? That I didn’t touch anything? I guess that was a lie, since I toyed around with a lighter while I waited for you guys to come back, but I didn’t–”

“Seriously? You really are stupid, aren’t you?” Selena said, furious. “Were you trying to burn the place down?”

“I didn’t try lighting it! I was just opening and closing the cap. It was fun to tinker with, that’s all…”

Selena’s head dropped in exasperation as she listened to Kyle explain his childlike antics. She stood up, peering down at Kyle. “If that’s the case, then why did he hear you lie about being a thief?”

“I don’t know, but I didn’t–” Kyle started, but his voice caught as he realized what had happened. He might not have taken Markus’s pocket watch, but he did steal from Connor earlier. And that made him a thief. “I mean… I didn’t steal from Markus, at least.”

Selena didn’t look convinced. “Then why did you run?”

“Who wouldn’t run when they suddenly get attacked by someone they were just getting to know?”

“I didn’t attack you–”

“Selena,” Officer Depure said, marching back over. “I’m a little busy with the business tycoons now that their meeting is over. You can take the brat back to Markus and sort your business out there.” Before Selena could respond, he turned and called for another officer. “Lieutenant Morena! Where are the chauffeurs? They left to take their smoke break fifteen minutes ago.”

“I don’t know, sir. They informed me that they fixed the engines, at least,” a female officer answered as she approached. “Shall I ready the vehicles without them?”

“Might as well. The tycoons won’t want to be in the spotlight for long.” Depure turned and called to the other officers. “Hey, I need someone else to drive the second car!”

The Lieutenant rushed to the driver’s side of the car Kyle had been pressed up against. At the same moment, several business men came out from the hotel, escorted by more police. The crowd got even louder, a mix of cheers and jeers drowning out the remaining officers as they barked orders.

“Right this way,” Officer Depure said, gesturing to the two vehicles. “Three of you in each, then we’ll head to City Hall immediately with a police escort.”

“Let’s get going,” Selena said softly, helping Kyle to his feet. He acquiesced, his airway still wheezy. The two waited behind Officer Depure as the men in suits filed into the cars in front and behind them. None of the men even glanced in their direction. When the car doors were shut, Selena egged Kyle onward. “Once we get back, we can try to explain to Markus what happened. Maybe he’ll have a tool to deal with the cuffs–”

She didn’t get to finish her thought. At the same time the engine of the car next to them started, Kyle’s vision was flooded with a mix of yellow and orange as an unfathomable heat engulfed him. The sudden explosion rocked his body to its core, sending it flying.

Limp and flame licked, Kyle crashed against the wall of the hotel, landing in an unmoving heap alongside Selena.