We were on our way back from the butcher shop one night when we were surrounded in one of the many alleyways of the city, four thugs standing behind us and two more appearing in front of us, with one of the two being someone Seika and I recognized.
Dark blue hair that looked black inside the dim alleyway framed a pale, warped expression of hate and desire for revenge, which made me sigh as Seika and I looked towards the other thug, who was a bit older and a lot more dangerous than the impulsive blue brat.
Dirty blonde hair that was cropped short, leaving his tanned, scarred skin on display while his emerald green eyes shone with a dangerous light as he idly flipped a knife from hand to hand, staring at us quietly as he allowed the blue brat to begin speaking.
"Heh, never thought ya'd see us again did ya?! Ya got lucky the last time we saw one another, yeah ya did! Now imma get payback for whatcha did to me..."
Steel glittered in his hand as he slipped a dagger from his belt, taking a step forwards and grinning at me, searching my expression to see if I was afraid of him.
Glancing back at the blonde, I raised a brow as I saw the knife remain in one hand as he quickly and hiddenly chopped his free hand from side to side, likely a signal to the guys behind us.
I looked over my shoulder and noted that the older thugs took a step back, while the remaining thug - the one that Seika had beaten last time - remained unaware of what was happening.
My lips were pursed as I turned back towards the blue brat, who was sneering at me as he snarled "Ain't no escaping me, ya little bastard! Just me and you..."
He faltered as he watched me take out my own blade, uncertainty dancing in his blue eyes as I stepped forwards, twirling the dagger around as I said "Just me and you? Sounds like fun to me. Seika... take care of the other one for me, yeah?"
Seika nodded, turning around and balling their fists as the other thug approached, grinning maliciously as they began to brag about something or other to the red eyed kid.
Ignoring them for now, I focused on the blue brat once more after glancing at the blonde, confirming that this was a trial of some kind for us.
Spinning the knife in my hands one more time, I breathed out before deciding to get this done quick, rushing forwards and taking the blue brat by surprise, flustering him easily and granting me access to his body as I slashed my knife across his torso, scoring a shallow cut from his shoulder down to the middle of his chest.
As the blade cut through the flesh and returned to the air, I continued dragging it down and cut into his arm next, damaging his dominant arm and loosening his grasp on his dagger, which I slapped away with my free hand, letting it clatter to the cobblestone harmlessly.
With blood dripping down my weapon, I took a deep breath and watched as my opponent stepped back, fear in his eyes as he brushed his fingers against the wound on his chest, shuddering some more as the blonde muttered "Pathetic... Completely pathetic."
Tilting his head, the blonde stared coldly at the blue haired kid and hissed "Get outta my sight, before I finish what he started... You're lucky these brats are so close to the main streets."
Those emerald eyes tracked the kid as he scrambled out of the alley, retreating from us both and being joined by the other kid as Seika was dragged off of him, the blonde's two lackeys pulling Seika off and clutching an arm each, restraining the red eyed brawler.
"Have to admit, wasn't expecting such a catch. Poua has a penchant for lying, y'see? Kinda a letdown sometimes, loves to exaggerate too. So when he told me two brats took care of 'im without breaking a sweat, I wasn't expecting much..."
Stepping forwards, he grinned and revealed a set of sharp teeth, with two fangs curling down from the top of his gums and making him a rather intimidating youngster.
"But ain't this a catch! The two of you are impressive little bastards, y'know that? They might be a bunch of fakers and liars, but Poua and his buds have scrapped quite a bit. To take 'em down so easily now... and you're bladework! Oh, that's some good stuff right there! So..."
Flipping his blade around, he pointed it at me and asked "Whadya say, wanna run with my crew? Could always use some scrappers like yourselves."
"Is that a request or an order?"
His grin widened, bouncing his knife around and replying "Depends on the answer. Can't kill ya, but there ain't nothing to stop me from roughin' you up a bit."
I looked back towards Seika, who was trying their best to break free from the two lackeys, who were holding on tightly with stoic expressions.
"What exactly are you doing? I'm not risking my life for something I don't care about, and especially not Seika's."
"Oh, I'm not heartless, nor am I stupid. Think I wanna end up in a cell? Tch, fuck no. It's illegal, sure, but not dangerous. Running items through the city from point a to point b, occasionally a bit of intimidation... nothing too bad. Do well, you get coin, a good bed, and some food for your efforts; do better, get more. Money, food, shelter, women... name it, and it's yours~! But if you mess up..."
His tongue flicked out as he brought his knife to his lips, his emerald eyes as sharp as his blade as he hissed "I'll gut'cha personally."
That made me raise a brow again, and he smirked back as he said "Oh I know you're thinking it'd be easier to run on your own, and you might be on to something there, but... strength in numbers, no? Tell ya what, since you cost me two of my runners, how 'bout you take over their work for a week, run me a few shipments. Pay'll be half rates, but in exchange you can step away from it all by the end of next week. We wash our hands of this, and we never see one another again. Sound better?"
His smirk widened into a grin as he sheathed his knife and took a step towards me, his hand outstretched towards me as he confidently stood before me, not caring about the knife in my hands as I stared at him, contemplating his offer.
Sheathing my own blade, I reached forwards and shook his hand, matching his powerful grip and watching as his grin widened even more.
"Nice to meet'cha~! Name's Lukan, head of the Scaled Runners! Lookin' forwards to working with the two of you~!"
~~~
Oooh... another interesting twist~!
My dearest Tiberius is going to be a criminal now?!
Oh my, he would never!
...
Well...
I do admit that the thought of him being a tad more... unscrupulous is...
Hah~
A-Ahem... M-Maybe that would be better..?
~~~