The clouds moved in front of the moon, casting the entire city in shadows. Two figures sat crouched on a rooftop, hidden from the streets below. The young man and woman were dressed in dark clothes and were watching a large building intently.

"Okay newbie, pop quiz. How many guards are standing between us, and our target?" Anthony asked looking at his partner.

Mariko pushed a lock of her black hair away from her face. "In total or who we'll have to get past?"

"How many we're going to have to deal with."

"I'd say…7?"

Anthony smiled. "Seems about right, looks like you're getting the hang on this."

"Well I have been working on it for what, 4 years?"

Anthony's grin widened. "All thanks to your brilliant teacher no doubt."

Mariko rolled her dark purple eyes. "So what's the plan?"

Anthony's dark eyes flashed in delight. "Simple my dear pupil, we'll be making our grand entrance from the window on the east side of the building, sneak around, find the toy and leave before anyone notices."He shook his head in mock disappointment. "Honestly, I don't see why I need to explain the obvious to you."

Mariko sighed. "I still can't believe that we're breaking into a toy factory for some spoiled little brat."

"Ah, but we're not just talking about some run-of-the-mill toy factory. This is Wapol Industry's main building, the place where the CEO personally oversees the newest toys in his production line."

"I've never even heard of this company until we got the job."

"It's new, and becoming very popular. You should read the paper more often."

"I'll keep that in mind when we're done here."

"Alright, I'm going to head down. You know where the Surveillance Den Den Mushis are, right?"

"Yeah, there's enough in here to rival some smaller marine bases. You're going to run into about 6 before you hit the target. Then you'll have to pass 4 on your escape route."

"How long do you think you can block the signals?"

Mariko hesitated. "I've been practicing on the one you bought, but if I had to guess, you have 10 seconds at best."

Anthony narrowed his eyes. "And what the worst?"

Mariko looked at her shoes. "Half of that."

Anthony pinched the bridge of his nose and held up a hand to stop his assistant from speaking. "Right. Well, nothing to worry about. I am, after all, a master thief and I've had to deal with worse before I had you." He sighed. "Just stick to the plan, if I sense panic coming from you, I'll know how much time I have left before it all goes to shit."

Mariko nodded and watched Anthony sneak down to the next roof top. He seemed like a shadow himself, moving to the ease and silence of someone who had spent his entire life relying on his stealth.

She stretched her leg out and got comfortable. The rooftop they'd chosen was the perfect starting point, close enough to see the factory but far enough for anyone to catch them on tape. She closed her eyes and let her power close up around her.

It had been 4 years since Anthony had brought her into the life of a thief. He'd been interested in her Devil Fruit ability which he'd affectionately nicknamed the Sound-Sound Fruit. She could control sound waves and Anthony took full advantage of her abilities. They'd figured out she could wiretap and interfere with the Den Den Mushi signals, which was why she was sitting on a rooftop as support while Anthony was down below. In exchange for her help, he was teaching her the color of observation Haki, which she found as a more advanced version of her Devil Fruit ability to use sonar radar.

She did her best to block out the presences of the people down below on the streets, hurrying to get home to their families. With her Devil Fruit ability, she could feel the transmission waves coming from a Den Den Mushi in one of the apartments nearby. It gave her a headache having all the waves and presences being soaked into her mind. She focused her mind primarily on Anthony, the factory guards and the Den Den Mushis scanning the perimeter for intruders.

She felt Anthony getting close to a camera and pointed her figure at the factory. She unleashed small waves from her fingertip and felt it mix in with the transmission signals. She smiled, the Den Den Mushi must be confused by now and sending blank images to whatever monitoring room they had. She felt Anthony move beyond the camera's view and cut her interference.

She smiled in satisfaction and got ready for the next shot.

-"~"-

Anthony took another swig of his bottle and smiled. Their target, the latest Wapol toy, set to be released in a few months sat on the table in front of him.

He looked over at his assistant with a grin. "See? Piece of cake! And you did a great job! I bet the guards are checking the snails for a cold or something."

Mariko nodded pretending she'd heard him and kept reading the newspaper.

Anthony frowned. "You keep reading that article and putting a damper on my fun. I know I told you to be more aware about what's going on with world but I didn't mean tonight! We're almost finished the job, who cares what's happening with the rest of the world right now?"

Mariko sighed. "I care, the shit's about to hit the fan with enough force to knock out half of the New World. 'Fire Fist' is scheduled to be executed in a few days and the whole world is on standby for when Whitebeard makes his move." She looked up from the paper and looked at her boss steadily. "Don't think this doesn't affect us too! We're supposed to drop off that stupid piece of junk to one of the nobles who lives on Shabondy. That's sitting right next to Marineford where the execution is!"

Anthony laughed bitterly. "I heard they're going to set up these huge screens so that the 'good people' can watch it in style." He snorted. "What's this world come to?"

She shrugged. "Either way, I'm glad we're going a few days before the execution. It's going to be a nightmare with all those people. The whole world's going to watch this."

Anthony emptied his bottle and reached for the next one. "What does your brother think of all this?"

Mariko frowned. "In his last letter he said that the marines at the base are going nuts. It seems that even in the North Blue, they're getting orders to get ready for pirates. Whether Whitebeard wins or loses after this mess, you can be sure that the ocean's going to be flooded with pirates."

Anthony looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "And your sister?"

Mariko kept her voice casual. "I'm not sure, I haven't heard from her in a while."

A scratching sound at the window stopped whatever question Anthony was about to ask. Mariko jumped out of her seat and opened the window with enthusiasm. A small cat with fur as black as the night looked up at her with eyes as golden as a harvest moon.

"Little baby! Are you cold, sweetheart?" She cooed reaching for her pet.

The cat leapt away from the grabbing hands with such agility that Mariko almost fell out of the window. The cat shot her a disgusted look that seemed to imply that there was no way that it would tolerate such foolishness. With great dignity, the cat purposely ignored its owner and hopped up onto Anthony's lap.

Anthony laughed and scratched the cat behind its ear.

"Why she likes you more than me I'll never understand." Mariko glared at her friend accusingly. "Arasoi is my cat and you don't even feed her!"

Anthony shrugged as the cat affectionately purred. "What can I say? My unnaturally high sexual attraction transcends even species."

Mariko looked at him in shock, completely speechless.

Anthony smirked and gently picked up Arasoi and placed her on the floor before standing up himself. "Anyways, I'm feeling mildly drunk and it's time to use that attraction to get me some bitches."

Mariko shook her head slowly. "I can't believe I put up with you."

Anthony laughed and threw on his jacket. "I'll be back by tomorrow afternoon, don't wait up."

Mariko rubbed her temples and heard the door close. She knew that no matter how loud and how long she'd listen to her music, her ears would never be clean again.

She sighed and took out a piece of paper and a pen and began her long overdue letter to her sister.