I needed more food. It had been a few days since I had last eaten, most of the stalls must have expected me because there was rarely an opening.
I'd been on the streets for about four years now. As a ten-year-old kid, I had honed my stealth ability to the point where I could usually steal food without being detected. Not now though, they were ready for me. Maybe I would have to steal and run? I had done it before but it was always risky, I wasn't nearly as fast as the adults that were present.
I eventually steeled my resolve and went for it, I wouldn't be able to take much, however. Maybe one piece of bread and some water, that was fine though. That was all I needed for now.
I picked my target and sprinted into the market and grabbed my prize before running off.
"Hey stop!" the shopkeeper yelled, I didn't turn but I could hear footsteps. I made a right turn down the alleyway, they made the turn too. At this point I was panicking, usually, there were only one or two people after me but I could hear at least 7 of them.
I took another left turn down a different alleyway, and then a right, then another left. But it was no use, I could still hear them behind me.
I was now in an area that I wasn't completely familiar with, I had been here sure, but I didn't know the layout. I made another right turn and was horrified by what I saw.
A dead end. I turned around to run away but the mob was still behind me, I was trapped.
"We got you now you little shit," one of the men said as I ran to the end of the alleyway and looked around. There was no way out, I was gonna die here.
Then suddenly a miracle happened, I felt a strong pair of arms grab me and suddenly I was being pulled up the wall.
"What the hell!?" one of the merchants yelled as my savior and I disappeared.
We ran from rooftop to rooftop for a bit before he set me down and looked into my eyes, his entire face was cover by a mask and good so I could only see his dark brown eyes.
"You okay kid?" the man asked and I nodded before he sighed and took my hand.
"Where are you taking me?" I asked and he turned to me.
"Home," he said and I frowned.
"I was kicked out, I don't have a home," I told him sadly and he shook his head.
"Not your old home, your new home," he said before turning to me "you're gonna meet your new family"
____________________
I awoke with a start, my head slamming into the bed above me. I groaned in pain and noticed that things were shaking a lot. Sure enough everyone else was awake too, each of them looking as startled and confused as I did.
"What's going on?" Sasaki asked as he jumped down from his bunk when suddenly the door to our quarters burst open. Erwin was standing there, completely drenched. He was either tossed overboard as a prank or there was a storm.
"We need help, we just hit a really bad storm!" Erwin shouted over the howling wind and everyone shot up.
"Let's go," Loki ordered and we all followed them outside.
"We need to lower the sails!" Kaya shouted and I nodded.
"I'm on it!" I yelled as I jumped onto the rope ladder and began to climb, the wind threatening to send me plummeting to the ground. I continued to climb and finally reached the top. Then suddenly a massive wave started coming towards the ship.
"All hands on deck!" Edward yelled and everyone dove to the ground.
I knew that I didn't have time to properly take down the sails so I did the next best thing. I cut the sails with my dagger and grabbed onto the mast, I didn't have time to get down. All I could do was pray.
The wave crashed down on the ship and I could feel myself being picked up and thrown off the ship, and into the water below.
My body hit the water and my world went blank.
____________________
With the final wave, the storm seemed to pass. Thankfully it didn't appear that anybody on the deck had been harmed and the young girl, Argo if I remembered correctly, was below deck.
Then it suddenly hit me.
"Where's Jun!?" Yuna asked as she began looking around frantically before climbing up the rope and checking up by the sails.
"He was still up there when the wave hit," Arin stated and Christa's eyes went wide.
"Come on Jun, you can't die on us yet," Loki begged.
"He's not up here!" Yuna yelled, tears evident on her face, even from down here. It pained me to see her cry. She reminded me too much of her for that to happen. I turned to Edward and gave him a look, Edward nodded and turned to address his crew.
"Everyone keep your eyes peeled, we're going back for Jun!" Edward yelled as Erwin turned the ship around and Kaya climbed up the mast and into the lookout's nest. We all ran to the sides of the ship and began to look for the thief.
"How are we even sure he's alive, he could have downed by now," Grey said and Yuna turned to him with tears in his eyes.
"He's okay!" she shouted and Tiny smacked Grey on the back of the head "he has to be okay"
Christa began to comfort the crying girl. As I looked at them.
"We'll find him," I said as I kept looking "mark my word we will find him"
No matter what it took I would not let him die. I would not allow sorrow to take over this girl's heart.
I knew better than anyone how ugly that could get.
____________________
My new family. That's what the man said but all I saw here was a ragtag group of thieves. I suppose that made sense, they were the Thieves Guild after all.
"Welcome to the guild brat," my savior said "I'm the boss around here, the name's Dante"
"Jun," I said and he nodded.
"I know," he said as he removed his hood and mask, he had long brown hair and red eyes, his attire remains the same, however. A black cloak that covered him from head to toe. "let me introduce you to the crew,"
He then led me over to a small group of people, two girls and three guys not including him.
"I know there's not many of us but this is only the inner circle, we've got hundreds of members in our other branches," Dante explained
"Hey kid, the name Rein," said one of the men, he had spikey blonde hair and blue eyes, he also had a cutlass on his hip and was dressed in an all-black jumpsuit.
"I'm Nora," one of the girls said, she had short black hair and green eyes, she wore a tight-fitting black jumpsuit and had a bow and quiver on her back.
"I'm Naomi," the other girl greeted, she wore a black kimono and haori combo with a katana sheathed on her hip. She also had long black hair that she tied into a ponytail and purple eyes.
"I guess I'm next, the name's Derek," one man greeted, he was a massive man that wore a tight black tank top and baggy gray pants, he didn't have any weapon I could see but I figured he was more of a brawler anyways.
Finally, the last man stepped up. He wore similar clothes to Dante except he didn't have the hood, revealing his long white hair. He appeared to have a spellbook attached to his side.
"I'm Gin," he greeted and I snickered a bit.
"Your parents were so drunk that they named you after their favorite alcohol?" I asked and Nora erupted in laughter.
"He's got ya there," she laughed and Gin grumbled.
"I know I already said it once, but welcome to the guild," Dante said, handing me a dagger, "I'm expecting big things from you"
____________________
"I think I see him!" Kaya shouted from the nest and I smiled, at the very least we could give him a proper burial now. I knew all too well that not everyone was that lucky.
I looked to where she was pointing and there he was, drifting in the ocean water, facing the sky. He appeared to be unconscious, or maybe dead, but on the off chance he was still alive, I had to get him.
"Hold this," I said, tossing my sword to Arin as I removed my haori and yukata. Now wearing nothing but my underwear I dove into the water and swam out to the thief, grabbing him by the arm.
Suddenly I noticed another person, Grey had jumped in to help. We worked together to drag the boy back to the boat and hoisted him up so Erwin and Loki could pull him aboard. I climbed back up with gray and Arin handed me my clothes.
"Keep your pants on," he joked and I smiled before putting my clothes back on and walking over to the unconscious Jun.
"What's the verdict?" I asked Kaya, praying that he was still alive.
Yuna hovered over him, her breathing growing more erratic as we waited for a verdict. The few seconds it took Kaya to answer felt like an eternity.
"He's alive," Kaya said with a smile and we all sighed with relief "Arin, help me carry him to the medical room"
"Got it," he replied as Christa followed after them. Yuna was about to go with them but I placed a hand on her shoulder.
"He'll be fine, let them work okay," I said and she smiled.
"Okay," she said and I began to walk off before she turned to me again "thank you, for saving him"
I just smiled at the girl and went to the bow of the ship and waited for Jun to wake up.
____________________
My head was killing me. It felt like I'd taken one of Derek's punches straight to the face, and that was a pain I was familiar with too.
I slowly sat up and opened my eyes, pain ringing through my head. Suddenly I heard a loud shout.
"He's awake!" what sounded like Christa yelled and suddenly I heard footsteps. I finally opened my eyes and was greeted by Loki staring back.
"You gave us a real scare Jun," he joked and I smiled weakly.
"Sorry about that," I said and Arin laughed.
"We're just glad you're okay," he said as Sasaki and Yuna entered.
"Jun!" Yuna yelled as she tackled me into a hug.
"You're alive! You're alive!" she cheered and I welcomed her warmth.
"She was really worried about you ya know," Sasaki said with a smirk "now what do you say?"
"Sorry for worrying you so much Yuna," I said and she met my eyes with her own, relief evident in her beautiful orbs.
Man, I had it bad for her.
"Don't worry, I'm not planning on dying any time soon, I've got too much to do before that happens" I told her and she smiled.
"Just don't scare me like that again," she said and I nodded. It was a promise I would do everything in my power to keep. But it wasn't a promise I was confident I could keep.
But that didn't matter. Because for Yuna, there wasn't anything I wouldn't at least try to do.
____________________
Apparently, during the storm, a dead octopus ended up on the ship because that's what Tiny had made for dinner. It's not like I was complaining. Sasaki seemed extremely excited octopus was a favorite of his, who would have thought.
I wasn't exactly in a festive mood so I chose to hang out on the bow of the ship by myself.
"Not much of a people person?" a young voice asked and I turned to see Argo behind me.
"Usually I am, not tonight though," I told her and she nodded.
"What are you lookin' at?" she asked and I pointed up "the sky?"
I guess I couldn't blame her for being confused there.
"No the stars," I said and she nodded.
"That makes more sense," she agreed as she looked up as well "why though?"
"I just think they're neat," I said and I turned to her "what do you think?"
"I think they're neat too" Argo replied with a smile and I laughed.
"That's good," I replied "I'm glad you're so fond of them"
I looked up at the stars one last time and sighed. Soon it would all be over, whether I was dead or alive didn't matter much to me.
All that matter is that it would finally be over.