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-------------Narration--------------
When dawn broke, Kou was the first to wake up, the little girl quietly leaving Yuji's arms, not wanting to wake him. She didn't know why she did what she did, but Yuji passed a sense of comfort and protection to her. It was as if her instincts were guiding her, and she didn't do much to restrain them.
Watching Yuji's sleeping face for a few seconds, Kou turned and made her way out of the pharmacy. To survive in that place, a routine was necessary, and she had learned this early on. Wake up, look for food, come home, look around to make sure the house is safe, and sleep. She had followed this routine for years, and it would not change. It was working, after all.
"Kou needs food for two people." Telling herself, she nodded in agreement, going into a dark alley to hide.
Wandering the streets, using the dark alleys to keep hidden, she cleverly stole some leftover food from distracted people. Having to stay hidden much of the time, Kou developed some skills, so she had no problem stealing without people noticing. This earned her the fame of "District Thief", and only made it harder for her to be around during the day, as many people wanted to kill her for stealing from them. The people of "The Inside" were not understanding people. Steal what little they already have, and they will want your head immediately.
'I got quite a bit today.' Thinking, she stopped in the middle of an alley, counting what she had stolen in a small bag she carried to store her loot.
Looking through her purse, she had some questionable looking fruit, some rusty objects that appeared to be silver, which she got from a man who was entering a store, probably to sell them, and a knife, which she picked up from the side of a corpse, which appeared to have been dead for some time.
Her loot was great, considering that on most days, she would be lucky if she was able to steal any crumbs of food.
With a small smile, she turned to leave the alley.
"I found it."
The girl froze when a voice came from in front of her, her eyes moving to the entrance of the alley to see a tall, stout man standing there, staring at her with a small smile.
"The District Thief... Too exaggerated a title for a child."
An icy sweat formed on the back of the girl's neck, her immediately pulling the knife from her purse as she gripped it tightly.
'Is he here to kill me?' she wondered, her eyes fixed on the man, who seemed to smile even more when he saw her pull out a knife.
"It looks like the girl has attitude, that's good. It makes the job of breaking her down more enjoyable."
Kou felt her heart begin to race. As much as she was too mature for a child, the fear of death was not something she was used to, since thanks to her stealth, she had never been cornered before. Listening to what the man was planning to do to her could only cause one thing to occur in her mind.
Desperation.
'No! I have a knife.... I-I can cut it and run away!' She tried to push the fear from her mind, failing when the man took a step toward her, causing her hands to start shaking.
"You can't do that, not until she tells us where the outsider is." Suddenly, a second voice sounded, but this time it did not come from the entrance to the alley.
It came from her back.
'When?!' Turning around, she could not react when a hand grabbed her by the neck, lifting her small body into the air as it pressed her back into the alley wall.
"You're spoiling my fun, damn you!" The stout man said with fury as he approached.
"Don't be an idiot. Our mission is to find the man who attacked the bar and bring back his head as soon as possible. If we take longer than necessary, the boss will punish us." The man who was grabbing Kou by the neck replied.
The little girl, who was struggling to breathe, watched the two men arguing with fear in her eyes.
The stout man had a body covered in muscles, standing 200cm tall with a face covered in scars. He was known as Rikuko's jailer, Takaya.
The second man was considerably better in appearance, with long black hair and a distinctly athletic body. He had the title of the district nobleman, Jian.
They were both wearing black suits, the brute wearing one specially made for his huge body.
"You asshole! Admit that you just want to have fun with the girl!"
Pointing at him, the brute clenched his jaw when his partner just looked away, as if he didn't understand what he was talking about.
"Let's get back to the point." Ignoring the brute, Jian increased his grip on the girl's neck, a devilish grin appearing on his lips.
"Don't try to fool us little girl, the local people have already told us that they saw the district thief taking the outsider." Kou, who gripped the man's wrist tightly, was struggling to breathe, his vision slowly darkening. "You will lead us to where he is, and I will not need to pull your little fingers out until you give in."
With malice in his tone, the man licked his lips, his eyes roaming over the girl's anguished face, which was struggling to find any trace of oxygen.
"Uh?" Takaya, who felt something on his back, turned toward the alley entrance, seeing nothing. "I'd swear I felt someone's presence."
The moment he turned his attention back to Jian, his eyes widened when he saw a figure standing behind his partner, her eyes glowing dangerously like an animal.
"Jian, behind you!"
He tried to warn, but it was too late when the figure sent his palm toward his partner, Takaya being quick enough only to pull Jian backwards with the figure's hand hitting him roughly.
"Ugh! My ribs! Son of a bitch!" Jian, who fell to the ground, immediately screamed in pain as he grabbed his ribs, which seemed broken in several places.
Takaya, who observed his partner's hit spot, noticed the fabric of his clothes and his flesh twisted into a spiral, he slowly turned to the figure, who was placing the little girl they were interrogating on the ground carefully.
"So it looks like the outsider has come to us. That makes the job easier." Takaya said maliciously, a wide smile on his lips.
Observing Kou's condition, and seeing that she was out of danger, the figure slowly turned to the one known as the jailer, Yuji's expression being revealed, his face dull, while a dangerous glint radiated from his eyes.
"I'm going to rip your heart out." Yuji said quietly, this bringing chills to Takaya, who stared at the boy cautiously.
'This kid... He may look calm on the outside, but it's clear that he's completely chaotic. If I'm not careful, I might become like Jian or even those idiots at the bar.'
Takaya thought, he adhering to a stance similar to that of Jiujitsu, but with his legs further apart than normally seen in the martial art.
Boom!
With Yuji disappearing from his previous position, leaving a footprint on the concrete, Takaya could barely react when the boy appeared in front of him, a fist inches from his face, which made him unconsciously blink as he raised his arms to defend the attack.
"Ugh!" he choked when instead of the blow hitting his guard, it hit his stomach, his body being pushed back, forcing him to his knees to stabilize himself.
'How? His fist was clearly toward my face!'
Without him being able to think about the strange movement, Yuji disappeared in a burst of speed again, Takaya being unable to react fast enough to escape the boy's palm, which advanced rapidly toward his chest.
'Shit!' The man shouted in his mind, his eyes widening in shock as he watched the palm approaching.
"You little shit!"
Yuji narrowly dodged a blade, his eyes going wide as another cut advanced toward his neck, forcing him to step back.
Jian, who was standing with clear difficulty, twirled a weapon known as a Kusarigama around his body, his teeth filled with blood as he displayed a maniacal grin.
"I will cut you to pieces!"
Yuji frowned. Things had gotten difficult. Fighting only against the muscular man, he would have finished the fight, but he had to deal with a scythe attached to a chain, which made the situation even more problematic, even more so considering his lack of experience dealing with such unusual weapons.
'I'm in an enclosed place, he won't be able to use that weapon properly.'
Taking a step forward, the boy's eyes widened as the scythe advanced toward him, he reacted quickly enough to throw back his torso, a small cut appearing on his cheek.
Jian, who had pulled out the scythe, twirled it around his body again, a devilish grin on his face.
'Damn.' Yuji squinted his eyes, his attention redoubled to the man in front of him.
'I have to get this guy out first.'