Inside, he found himself in a dimly lit living room with peeling wallpaper and a fan slowly turning overhead.
An old man sat on a couch, blinking at him in complete silence.
Abuchi raised a finger to his lips. "Please. Just give me a second."
The man stared… then slowly nodded.
Down below, the guards reached the alley, breathing heavily, scanning every corner. One of them shouted, "Where did he go? He was just here!"
The women selling vegetables all looked at one another, then pointed in different directions.
"Left!"
"He ran that way!"
"I think he jumped into that big gutter!"
The guards groaned in frustration, fanning out in confusion.
Then
"Ahhh! A strange man is in my house!" a woman's voice screamed suddenly from upstairs.
The guards snapped their heads upward.
"There! The first floor!" one of them shouted, charging toward the door of the building.
Inside, Abuchi grimaced. Too late. The man's wife had panicked when she saw him.
