The Honest Thief
A teenage boy ran across the rooftops. His long green scarf fluttered behind him, olive sandals making nary a sound on the roof tile. An open silver vest hugged his small frame, contrasted by dark green pants. A green pouch hung from his belt, and a wickedly curved sickle lay slung within his vest. Long, chitinous green antennae stuck out from short emerald hair. Large compound yellow eyes gazed out, a cross shaped scar marred his left cheek. His skin appeared tan from a distance, but is actually tinted green upon closer inspection. A tribal mantis graced his right shoulder, while tribal tattoos travelled all down his left arm.
Yin stopped abruptly, and dropped down to hang from the eaves. He swung in through an open window. Inside sat a human girl. Her dark brown hair brushed her shoulders, framing a pale face set with shocking cyan eyes. A long green dress covered the rest of her body, though bare feet poked out from underneath. She looked up as Yin landed in the room.
"Hello, Yin," she greeted, smiling softly. She stood up to grab a notebook, knowing what Yin would want to do. "What's up this time?"
Yin's reply was short and to the point. "Hello Jade. The Ferals are getting into a war with another gang. The Claw. The raid leader said that we will burn the block if that's what it takes to find them." The mantis faunus sat in a chair and faced Jade. "I'm leaving the Ferals, and warning the Claw. If they leave, your home will be safe."
Jade was shocked. "You really think it'll work?"
"Undoubtedly. The Ferals are aware of my inability to lie, so they have no reason to think otherwise. I'll tell them which way the Claw went, follow for a while, then peel off. I don't know where I'll go from there, but I'll be free long before the Feral's realize I'm gone."
"Okay, but be careful."
Yin snuck out the same window he entered through. He climbed back on the rooftop and went back to searching. He checked a clock tower. It read noon.
"I have five hours," he pondered.
His compound eyes scanned the immediate area. On the very edge of Yin's vision, a small humanoid figure scurried away. He whipped around and gave chase.
The ensuing chase went through several streets, eventually turning off into an alleyway. The small person was fast, but Yin was crafty. He noticed a discarded ball just up ahead, and unstable scaffolding at the end of the alley.
Yin scooped up the ball in his left hand, tossed it to his right, and chucked. The ball whistled over the small runner's head. As expected, they faltered. The ball clipped a support on the scaffolding, giving the already rickety platform just the push needed to topple over. The small figure skidded to a stop to avoid getting hit by the falling wood. Yin's opportunity presented itself, and the small mantis faunus tackled his target.
The person Yin had been chasing was revealed to be a small Chihuahua faunus. His ears lay flat on his head, and a Claw tattoo was inked into his right forearm. Aside from that, he had no indicators.
Yin got off his small opponent and even helped them up. "You're a Claw?" The boy nodded meekly. "Yes, I'm a Feral. No, I won't hurt you. Instead, take this message to your leader. The Ferals are going to burn the whole area down just to kill you. Run. Run wherever you can that isn't here."
Yin left the chihuahua faunus. He made his way towards his lookout spot of choice, the roof of the clock tower. Dark specs moved across the roofs, too obvious to be Claw. Harder to spot was the chihuahua, flitting from shadow to shadow. He eventually evaded even Yin's gaze, going completely off the radar.
Yin checked the clock again. "Three. Two hours." Still no sign of the Claw escaping.
"One hour left." Signs of the smaller gang's movement were starting to show. Less activity on the street is what most gangs would telegraph. The opposite rang true for the Claw. Seeing the general direction they were headed in, Yin left for where the raid leader was.
The warehouse looked abandoned on the outside. That is how the Ferals liked it. Inside, crates full of everything under the sun that a gang might need created a maze that the most directionally exceptional would have a hard time getting through. The raid leader stood in the center, screaming orders at the myriad muscle-head gang members around him.
Yin climbed up on top of the stacked crates, and noticed the Donoven Dust Company logo on it. He quietly cracked the top open, and stole a pair of vials. One fire, one lightning. Closing the crate just as quietly, Yin slipped the vials into his otherwise empty pouch. Theft out of the way, Yin made his way over to the Boss.
The mantis faunus dropped in behind the Boss as usual. He sat quietly, waiting for the large ox faunus to turn around.
After about twenty minutes of roaring at incompetent subordinates, the raid leader turned to face Yin. He spat, "So, mantis. Where are the Claw hiding?"
Yin knew better than to only answer the spoken question. That was how he got the scar on his cheek. "They aren't hiding. The Claw have learned of our methods and are fleeing the area. They travel towards the Firewall, in hopes of avoiding Feral forces." Duty complete, Yin turned to leave.
"So, they run rather than fight? Ready the torches!" Yin stopped cold. He turned to face the raid leader.
"I thought we were only going to burn the Claws out if we could not find them. We know exactly where they are, why not leave the buildings be?"
The large ox faunus picked Yin up by the neck. He growled directly in the face of the small mantis, "You're second guessing me? You may have been a Feral for several years, but you are not exempt from being punished. Our orders were to burn the block if we could not find the Claws there. Since the Claws have left, we burn it." The Boss dropped Yin.
As soon as Yin's feet hit the floor, he collapsed. The words rang through his head over and over and over again. "We burn it."
Yin stood slowly, supporting himself on a crate. He reached inside his vest, gripping the familiar handle of his sickle. He made a decision. He would cut the torch bearers.
Yin escaped the warehouse undetected, making his way across the crates on his belly. Outside, the mantis faunus pulled out his sickle, a tough stone from his pouch, and set about sharpening the harvest tool. His careful grinding had the slightly dulled weapon ready within thirty minutes. Yin returned to the clock tower, the comfortable weight of the sickle once more slung within his vest.
The bell rang, signalling the attack. Yin stood, drawing his sickle as he did. The first torch lit, drawing Yin's attention immediately. He dropped to the ground as fast as he could. His focus was the torches.
"They don't have the means to light more than one torch without the lit one, therefore they will be grouped together so as to light them all."
Yin reached the torches in record time. He found a spot to wait, and wait he did. His semblance triggered, and soon Yin was invisible against the wall. His skin, clothes, and sickle changed colour to match the wall behind him.
The first of the torch-wielding thugs passed under Yin. Yin dropped in behind the oblivious mouse, and flicked his sickle. A long cut appeared on the thug's arm and a howl escaped his lips. Yin took the torch and doused it, then chucked the smouldering stick far away. The other four torch bearers arrived after hearing their companion's strangled cry and whimpering. They arrived to see Yin standing across from the first pyro, sickle held out in front of him in a balanced stance.
The four surrounded Yin, hate plain on their faces.
"I've been hoping for this for a loooong time, little bug."
"Really? I haven't."
The wailing of sirens filled the air, and a law enforcement vehicle turned onto the street Yin and the five torch bearers stood on. It careened down the road. A loudspeaker on top blared, "Drop the torches and put your hands in the air!"
While the thugs were still stunned, Yin slipped between them and scrambled up a building. Fighting could be heard below. Yin leaped across to another rooftop, hearing three of the five thugs clambering up after him. Their torches were missing. As soon as the three spotted Yin, they took off in pursuit.
The chase took them over roofs, through valleys, and generally across the city vaguely in the direction of the piers. They ran in circles for an hour and a half, Yin never quite losing them but getting enough of a break to catch his breath.
The mantis faunus and his furious pursuers turned a corner and ran into a group of mismatched faunus. Yin didn't spend time thinking about that. He was more focused on escaping the thugs chasing him. The two people in dark cloaks over dark clothes, wearing bandannas to hide their faces chased the motley crew. One yelled some scathing remarks about the faunus.
The three gangsters chasing Yin took offence to the remarks. They began insulting back, and picked a fight with the oddly dressed individuals. As the group of faunus rounded a corner, a scream cut through the evening air, followed by two more. The men in dark clothing resumed chasing the cluster of faunus.
Yin thought to himself, "What the hell have I gotten myself into?"