The sun set slowly as the crew walked through the village, still feeling the tension left by the earlier encounter. The old man they had helped thanked them quietly before hurrying off, not wanting to draw more attention.
Ash exhaled sharply. "We should've just handled those guys. It's not like we can just sit around and do nothing."
Raiden shook his head. "Fighting them in the open would've made things worse. We don't know how many soldiers are stationed here."
"Yeah, yeah," Ash muttered, crossing his arms.
Astrid, who had been quiet, suddenly stopped. She looked around suspiciously. "Something's off…"
Before anyone could react, something shot past them—a blur of motion too fast to follow.
Raiden felt a weight vanish from his belt. He looked down. His pouch of Talons was gone.
"Hey!" Ash snapped, realizing his own pockets were empty. "My food money!"
Astrid checked her belt. "He took my dagger."
Laughter echoed from above. They looked up to see the same man from earlier sitting on a wooden beam, dangling their stolen items from his fingers.
"Wow, you guys are way too slow," he said with a teasing grin. "You didn't even notice I was right in front of you."
Raiden narrowed his eyes. "You again."
The man twirled Astrid's dagger between his fingers before flipping it into the air and catching it effortlessly. "Man, you guys sure carry a lot of valuable stuff. You must be rich."
Ash cracked his knuckles. "Alright, monkey boy. Give it back."
The man smirked. "Monkey boy? That's new." He then turned toward Astrid, his grin widening. "But wow, I gotta say, you're something else, miss."
Astrid raised an eyebrow. "What?"
He tossed the dagger back to her. "I've seen a lot of girls, but none as beautiful as you."
Ash's eye twitched. "You've got to be kidding me."
Raiden sighed. "Just give us our stuff back."
The man didn't seem to be listening. He leaned slightly toward Astrid. "You know, I wouldn't mind traveling with someone like you. What do you say? Want to run away together?"
Astrid rolled her eyes. "I'd rather jump into the ocean."
Raiden smirked at that, while Ash growled, stepping forward. "That's it. I'm gonna punch you."
The man leaped down from the beam, flipping in the air before landing in a crouch. He stretched lazily. "Alright, alright. I'll return your stuff. But only if you can take it back from me."
Ash didn't wait. He dashed forward, swinging a punch straight at the man's face.
But in the blink of an eye, the man twisted his body, avoiding the strike with inhuman flexibility. He swayed like a leaf, stepping lightly out of Ash's reach.
"Too slow," he teased.
Ash gritted his teeth and threw another punch. Again, the man dodged effortlessly, moving with an unpredictable rhythm.
"Come on, that all you got?" the man said, yawning.
Ash lunged, but at the last moment, the man crouched and flipped backward, landing a light tap on Ash's forehead before landing gracefully on a wooden crate.
"Boop," he said with a smirk.
Ash's anger flared. "Stop messing around and fight me for real!"
The man laughed, flipping the stolen pouch of Talons between his fingers. "Maybe later. This was fun, though." He tossed the pouch back to Raiden and Ash's money toward him.
As he turned to leave, Raiden spoke up. "You're strong. What's your name?"
The man paused. He smirked over his shoulder.
"Shinjiro."
Then, in a single leap, he vanished over the rooftops.
Ash glared after him. "I hate that guy already."
Astrid tucked her dagger away. "He's definitely an interesting one."
Raiden crossed his arms. "We'll be seeing him again."
And he was right.