<2nd Fight: Swiper No Swipping>

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"Haah, Haah"

In a suspicious poorly lit alley there stood six figures. Upon a closer look, it seemed to be five random thugs up to no good as they set their eyes upon their target; a little boy.

"Quickly! Chase 'em down and tie 'em up!"

Chasing a child all the way into the Shichi-Ohba Ward, they had finally trapped him when the boy, who in desperation had dumbly ran into an alley that had a dead-end.

Seeing the child in rags shivering in fright trying to squeeze himself into the very corner of the alley, the group of random thugs laughed amongst themselves and grinned pervertedly, knowing that they've received a good haul today.

It was just this morning when the thugs were on their daily commute from the usual human trafficking gig they currently were making most of their money from when they'd stumble across what they'd consider a 'beauty'.

A little child, no more than 10, with unblemished skin and looked healthy enough?

Had pigs really started to fly? Or was their job becoming even easier than before?

If they were to sell this kid at the old one-stop-shop for all prostitutes and slaves "Rental Bitch", they would've made a killing, they thought.

"Alright little kiddo, come 'ere and just play along, and I promise 'ya that it won't hurt, too badly that is." Thug 'A' mischievously snorted.

"No! Leave me alone! Go away!" the child shouted, but alas, there was no one to help nor hear him. And even if they did, the price of playing the hero was too much for no known reward, and especially since the threat of death loomed over everyone equally every day, no self-respecting person would willingly jump out to help.

"C'mon, why don't we sample the goods before we sell him, eh?" Thug 'B' cheekily licked his lips as Thug 'C', 'D', and 'E' as the boy in rags had labeled them had looked on.

"As I said earlier, no! You know how rough you get when it comes to handling the goods! Besides if we give him to the old man untouched, we'll get a bonus as promised on or agreement." Thug 'A' exasperated explained, before turning towards the little boy.

"Alright sonny, that's enough playing, now come 'ere!" And with that, he jumped at the boy to tie him up.

"Ok, ok, let's get going now. We have what we came here for." Thug 'B' stated, turning around with the rest, however, it seemed as if everything had gone silent.

Yo bro! What's wrong? You've gone all quiet on us." Thug 'B' spoke, but all returned once again was silence.

"Oi! Stop fuckin' around and let's go!" Thug 'C' shouted, moving over to grab Thug 'A' who was just crouched over the boy, unmoving.

"!"

-SCWIT!-

-THWACK!-

-THUD!-

"Aaack!" Holding his eyes, Thug 'C' flailed about before slumping down on the ground due to being bashed on the head with a blunt object.

"Huh!? What the fuck!?" The remaining thugs yelled.

Dropping the unconscious Thug 'A' slumped on his shoulders, the young boy started stretching before stomping twice, with all of his might, downwards to the two thugs' nether regions.

-SQUISH!, GUUISH!-

And what had been heard as the result of that, was a dark, wet, and disgusting sound that made the other thugs shiver.

"Alright guys, I need you all to just play along and let me test out my new toy, ok? I promise you that it won't 'too' much, m'kay?" Reaching behind his back as if to grab something, the child, or rather, the brown-eyed boy in a cloak looked towards the group of thugs, his golden hazel-brown eyes gleaming with curiosity, completely replacing the scared and terrified look he wore on his face earlier.

"Bullshit!" They yelled, agitated, and confused.

"We're not gonna let a kid work us over like a butter biscuit! Forget bringing him back in one piece, fuck him up!" Thug 'B' yelled.

-SWOOSH!, SWOOSH!, SWOOSH!-

From behind the boy's back flew several of the boy's favorite fist-sized rocks that he always managed to find, soaring straight towards the thugs chasing him.

The sling had been made with nothing more than some cloth that the boy had found alongside a few stretch material that the boy didn't know the names off, but nevertheless, within his hands, it had become serviceable, and serviceable meant something dangerous in the boy's mind.

-WHISTLE-

"Not bad, it's pretty decent." The boy hummed.

-THWACK!, THWACK!, THWACK!-

"Gwaargh!" Thug 'E' cried out.

With most of the rocks hitting the unfortunate thug 'E' in his temple, chin, and throat with enough force nearly crushing them, the two remaining thugs decide to act with more haste as they saw their now unconscious partner drop to the ground as he would be subject to the same fate as their other two partners were.

-SQUISH!-

-SCHWING!-

"Gotcha now, brat!" Reaching close enough, Thug 'B' swung his hidden blade at the boy's neck, hoping the kill him with one clean slash to the jugular veins.

However,

-TAP, TAP, TAP-

-THUMP!-

One second they saw him, and the next second they didn't. Using his footwork that he diligently practiced, the boy ducked out of sight as he maneuvered behind the two swiftly, kicking Thug 'E' in the groin, incapacitating him for a while.

"!"

-SWOOSH-

Turning around, Thug 'B' had narrowly dodged the boy's fist, sending out various slashes from different positions, all with the intent to kill this brat once and for all.

-SLASH!, SLASH!, SLASH!-

-SCRAPE!-

'Hehe, gotcha.' The man inwardly smirked, seeing as blood was finally flowing from this kid's face, and when he saw the kid touch his face before looking at it and shivering, the man broke into a bloodthirsty snarl.

"Looks like it was all bravado, huh?" Now you might want to run, but I won't let you!" Looking at the kid who started to run away, Thug 'B' went into position to chase him, but as he began to give chase, he heard the voice of one of his partners.

"Uuuh, up, look up." Thug 'E' groaned pitifully holding his family jewels

'It's like a sledgehammer, that kick of his. I think one's ruptured' Thug 'E' inwardly moaned.

Looking up, Thug 'B' dodged the rock swiftly falling above him, trying to injure his head, but as he did so, it would soon prove fatal.

-SMASH-

-CRACK!-

It was another rock, launched straight to the man's chin that was tilted upwards. With it cleanly connecting, the wet sound of breaking bone could be heard as the man's jaw was crushed, as he slowly fell forward.

Not done yet, the boy closed the distance, raining down blows towards the man with all of his strength, before finally moving aside as the thug's body crumpled onto the floor, unconscious.

-THUD!-

'Not too sloppy, but could use a few more improvements' The boy inwardly critiqued himself, not particularly happy with the scratch on his face as he wiped the blood off. It was a narrow scratch, but it could've been a life-threatening injury if done by someone more skilled. And as cautious as he always was, he'd have to get it disinfected when he returned 'home' afterwards.

Quickly, repeating the actions the boy did towards the other thugs to this one fallen before him, that familiar wet disgusting sound, had made its way into the last thug standing; Thug 'E's ears.

"Ungh, what the..." Looking at all of his comrades downed by a single kid, Thug 'E' went through various scenarios in his mind to ascertain why such a thing would happen.

And upon catching his bearings, and realizing that his back was turned towards the exit of the alleyway,

He ran.

-TAP, TAP, TAP-

Or at least he tried to, before being stopped by the boy that appeared before him.

"No, no, no, Mr. Badguy. Not so fast." A childish voice sounded out, full of youthful vibrance akin to the image of a group of children playing joyfully on a hot sunny summer day, but to the thug, who kept looking at the face of the smiling boy, it was anything but childish and innocence.

'A devious devil, trying to lure others to their grisly end.' The thug thought, suddenly gaining enlightenment as he used words he never heard before or thought he would use.

"Why?" The thug barely managed to mouth off as he looked at the lone boy.

"Why?" The boy repeated the thug's question while looking at him as if he was speaking to an idiot.

"Weren't you guys going to sell me into prostitution after trying to force yourselves onto me? It's pretty simple hmm? Since I'm strong enough, I'm doing it because I can. A boy's gotta eat y'know..."

"Besides, Isn't that how everyone here thinks?"

"So no hard feelings, okay?" The boy smilingly replied, clearly in a good mood if the tone of his voice was anything to go by, before giving the last thug a look that completely looked down upon the man's intelligence.

"Well, c'mon! Show me those hands of yours, mister!" the boy hummed happily.

'Was this all on purpose?' The thug thought.

Upon thinking about it, the kid was always looking at them and before they had started chasing him he had taken off those rags he wore as if he was undressing.

Was it all truly just the ploy of some brat?

He couldn't accept it.

He wouldn't.

His pride couldn't possibly handle it.

And to nurse his wounded pride, he was going to kill this brat.

Getting angrier and bolder, the man summoned up all the courage he could muster, and charged at the boy, as he roared indignantly, ready to kill.

"You little shit! Who the fuck do you think you are, huh? I'll show you what happens when you disrespect your elders you son of a bi-"

-CRASH!, CRACK!-

The man was struck in the jaw, harshly.

It was a tackle that led into an uppercut, that was powered by the boy's full speed and strength, as the boy pushed against the ground, sending himself flying towards the thug.

It might not be anything fancy, but in the boy's mind, it worked like a charm for opponents much taller than him.

-WHACK!, WHACK!, WHACK!-

Swifty and fiercely landing numerous blows upon the man, the boy hadn't let up his fierce onslaught until the last thug was completely unconscious, beaten black and blue, and by a little boy at that.

-THUD!-

"Haah, Haah"

"It seems that I've made somewhat of an improvement." The boy tiredly mumbled before walking over to the unconscious quintuplet of thugs.

"Well, let's get to work."

And with that, he 'borrowed' the wallet and several valuables from them before leaving.

Permanently.

But not before revisiting the downed final thug, and making sure that he wouldn't feel left out by not getting the same 'treatment' that the other four received.

And with that, a disgustingly wet and dark sound ringed out in the alleyways.

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-X0X0X0X-

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-SWIPE!, SWIPE!, SWIPE!-

Using the footwork that was diligently trained in for years in rapid succession with a precisely calculated speed, the brown-eyed boy in a cloak dashed throughout the crowds within the edges of the Shichi-Ohba Ward, with swift hands pickpocketing others before they could even realize.

-FWIP!, FWIP!, FWIP!-

Pushing all of his gains deeper into his robes, he ran at his fastest speed into the Tokita Ward, knowing when to fold when he has to because soon enough, the residents would notice that their pockets are a tad bit lighter, and with well-developed street smarts, it wouldn't be too long until they realize that there was a thief at work.

After all, one person missing something might be an accident, but a group of people 'all' missing something? Clearly a thief is doing his job, and it seems that they're doing it well enough.

Too well, in fact.

Strolling back into the Tokita Ward in the late afternoon, the brown-eyed boy in a cloak couldn't help but once more feel slightly odd.

'Again! Someone is watching me again.' The boy grimly thought.

This 'feeling' was a sort of 'intuition' or rather, a 'sixth sense', that he and many others had developed due to many dangerous days and nights within The Inside, not knowing if someone would be might be trying to end his life.

And for all that concerned the boy; this sense had never failed him.

'And this time is from... The west!' The boy inwardly shouted as he narrowed his eyes under his hood, gazing in that direction, only to see nothing.

'Huh? Did that person just move? But I didn't even make it obvious, could they have seen through that?' Thinking over time, the boy had pieced together all the other times that he had been watching for the past month and before that.

"Someone's clearly watching me, and it's the exact same person from before, and I haven't been able to spot them..." Not liking what this would imply, the boy gnashed his teeth in frustration.

Now trying to remain discreet, the brown-eyed boy in a cloak traveled to and fro to different stalls, sometimes window shopping and sometimes buying minor necessities, staying in each place for a while to see if his 'stalker' had left, but he felt as if they hadn't.

'If you want to play tag then fine. But you'll have to play by yourself.'

-TAP, TAP, TAP-

Picking up the pace, the boy traveled into the entrance of the more familiar alleyways, before exiting from the same way, using his footwork to blend into the crowds as he dashed through them.

'Try playing by yourself for a while, you'll most likely stop after seeing how lonely it is.' No longer feeling as if he was being watched, the boy made his way back to his 'base' before running into a familiar man giving the ol' routine beatdown to a group of men holding weapons and firearms.

'It's that old man again.' The boy blankly thought.

Time and time again, the boy had struggled to grasp even a single one of the man's technique, no matter how many of his 'fights' he had chanced upon.

'It's like he's swatting flies away and sending them flying without even trying.'

While the boy didn't know the name of this man, he sure did remember him; It was one of his 'employers' that he'd take 'jobs' or 'errands' from to make ends meet.

To the brown-eyed boy in a cloak, the incredibly tall man with shaggy black hair who wore a grey cloak and a simple grey gi tied by a black belt would usually either be on 'jobs' or just screwing around drunk, starting problems with the residents every chance he could.

-CLAP, CLAP, CLAP-

"Just amazing old man, I knew you would sooner die from old age than form a group of thugs" The boy grinned, his voice laced with sarcasm.

"Ah shut up kid! I ain't that old yet!" The man in the grey gi complained.

Shaking his head, the man called the boy with him to his house, in order to ask him for something.

"What's this? A new job request?" The boy asked.

"Yeah, something like that, you see, it seems that the Takahiro Group had caught on to what we were trying to do, so now they're all sneaky and secretive since you nabbed their boys a week ago."

"So the next time they hit the road, they'll most likely send backup." The gi wearing man mused.

"So? Whaddya want?" The boy inquired.

"I need you to go out and be the bait and lure them into the 55th building up at North Tokita, and make it look believable please." The 'karate' man said 'cutely', which had only incited the young boy's disgust.

"Uhhh" The boy shivered, not liking whatever that abomination of an expression the man made was.

"Why should I do that though? Ain't your guys already know what they're doing? Don't make sense me risking my hide for that." The boy replied.

"Ahh come on! How about this?" The karate man tried to reason.

"I'll get you some more books, free of char-"

"I'll do, you lazy old man." The boy cut him off.

"..."

'If you're gonna play hard to get, then shouldn't you at least follow it through? Am I really the lazy one here?' The 'karate' man blandly mused, confused at the cloaked boy's shamelessness.

"Anyways, here." Throwing a pair of sheathed switchblades that the boy caught, he nodded to him as the boy began to leave before...

"One more thing old man." The boy suddenly spoke.

"Hmm?"

"Just who was it that has been following me for the past month? They didn't feel like the Yakuza guys as it feels way more 'rough' and 'wild' than those guys." The boy sharply asked, his eyes narrowing into slits as he gazed the lazy 'karate' man, lounging in a chair.

"Hoo? What could you possibly be talking about kid? Sounds interesting." The 'karate' man said, lazily drawling as he made no visible attempts to feign ignorance.

'Acting dumb again huh? So you 'do' happen to know this person somewhat then.' The young boy thought to himself, gritting his teeth as he began to leave once more.

"Nevermind then, I'll soon figure it out."

"That you will, beansprout. From what I've seen, that man's a real animal y' know. He sure likes to appear uninvited and at the most random of times, so you'll most likely be in for a surprise." The 'karate' man wryly smiled.

"..." Looking at the 'karate' man in his eyes, the boy quickly left for home as he mulled over his new tasks and the info about the person that was watching him for the past month.

He didn't know who it was, but he had an idea; an idea he had pushed to the back of his mind, hoping that it was just him overthinking. However, there was a phrase from one of the books that he read that he had taken a fondness to, and it was that;

"Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time."

He had wanted to believe that whoever was tailing him wasn't hostile, but after living in the Tokita Ward for years, he couldn't rely too much on that train of thought.

Whoever or whatever 'animal' it is, if they had tried to bite, then he'll surely bite back.

'Seems like some extra training is in session' The boy thought sourly.

Since he wasn't strong enough to say; 'Fuck it, I'm out of here', and leave The Inside completely, he'd make sure that he'd survive to see another day in this hellhole and to do that, he would spare no effort, just like he always did.

"Ah fuck it, I'm too young for this!" The boy agitatedly grabbed his head, yelling at the old man in the clouds.

<2nd Fight: Swiper No Swipping> END

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