It's a Hardknock Life
Disclaimer: '.....
The man sat at his desk, reading one of the reports. He wasn't really concentrated though he was trying really hard to pay attention. But, he'd had a long night last night and he was starting to feel the effects of lack of sleep this morning. He rested his head on the hard surface. Maybe, if he could just get a few minutes sleep...
"Sir!" The door to his office starting knocking hard.
"Come in!" He groaned. The door flew open and he found himself looking at a red-haired man. His green eyes twinkled micheviously.
"Sir, whassup? he asked him, looking at his tired eyes with a frown. I just shook my head before placing it back on the table.
"I'm just tired, that's all. I didn't really get that much sleep last night. I was up marking your reports". Reno shook his head in mock-pity.
"Well sir, I've told you, you would get much better sleep if you didn't set us reports. That way we could do whatever we wan-". He ducked as his boss threw a book at him. Reno was always trying to find a way to get out of writing reports. Simply because he was lazy and because he wanted to spend all day in bed with Rude, his best friend and poker partner, he supposed.
"Now leave me alone, Reno. I'm trying to mark here". Yeah right... the moment he left, I'd be finding myself in dreamland...
Reno raised one red eyebrow before shrugging. "Okay sir, see ya". His boss waited until he had shut the door before settling down again. How was he supposed to know how hard it was to be the boss of all the Turks?
The girl walked around the back alleys, quite close to where she resided. There was nothing to do at home seeing as she couldn't afford to purchase any means of entertainment so she'd taken to just walking. It usually cleared her mind as well which was an added bonus.
Walking on and on, she soon found herself in a part of town that she'd never been to before. Although where she lived was bad, this area made it look like a palace. It was messy, with garbage lying on the sidewalk. There was a crack on the floor where men had begun to do roadworks and never finished. All the buildings looked like they needed to be scrubbed for years before there was any chance of them being even the slightest bit clean. This place was really the dumps.
And yet, the girl found herself drawn to it in an odd way. It seemed to resemble her more than the area she was currently living in. She felt like she didn't need to hide here. Looking around, she spotted what looked like a pub in the corner of the street. Even though it was just as dirty as the surrounding buildings, the girl could feel how happy it was inside. She gingerly opened the door and the air was immediately filled with loud cheers, screams and laughter. There was some sort of music playing but she could barely hear it. When they heard the door open, the people stopped whatever they were doing and turned to look at her.
Still walking, the girl looked around for an empty seat. She found one, near the bar and made her way over to it. After she had sat down, everyone quickly lost interest in her and went back to whatever they were doing before. The girl felt relieved. She immediately focused onto the interesting convesration that some tattoed men were having near her.
"So did you say it was a Revolver? Because I'm sure that it looked more like a Thompson". The girl's ears pricked as she listened. When she was young, her father used to sit her down and tell her all about guns. She soon got to know the different types, how powerful they were and even what stance to hold each one in. She was like the son that he never had. One of the men saw her watching them and gave a small grin.
"Hey, little girl. Whatchoo lookin' at?" he asked, voice hard and croaky. She was not in the least bit frightened by his tone. Years of hardship had enabled her to be unafraid of almost anything that came her way, unexpected or not.
"I'm just listening to your conversation" she answered confidently. "I heard you talking about guns so I decided to listen". The man looked at the rest of his friends before sneering.
"And what would you know about guns? You're just a little gal. You shouldn't be involved in guy talk". The girl rolled her eyes.
"What do I know about guns?" she asked him. "Well I know that there are many different types. I know that the most powerful hand gun in the world is the 50cal Smith & Wesson. It shoots a .600 Nitro Express Magnum and weighs just over 13lbs. Anything else?"
It was entertaining watching their faces look so surprised as she revealed all the information to them. It was a common thing for people to underestimate her and she always liked to prove them wrong.
"Okay, okay, maybe I underestimated ya" the first and biggest man confessed. "Ever used a gun before?"
Should she lie? She decided against it. "No".
The men seemed to find this amusing. "So you know that much about guns and you ain't even used one before?" The boss asked. She shrugged, not wanting to give too much away. "Well how 'bout you come with us? I'm Crocodile by the way".
The girl nodded. Maybe it would be fun if she went with the three guys. It would be more entertaining than spending the day in solitude like she usually did. "Cool" she said, trying to sound like she didn't give a damn.
"What's your name?" Crocodile asked. His two clones stood up and went to get a drink.
"Analuxia" she muttered. It felt weird telling her name to someone. She couldn't remeber the last time she did that. To everyone else, she was just a girl who was of no interest to society whatsoever.
Crocodile nodded slowly as if divulging the information that he had just received. He was sensible enough not to ask her anymore about herself. She seemed like the silent type who would reveal all if and when she wanted to.
Analuxia allowed herself a little smile. It was so rare, it ached her face muscles. "So where are going?"
"To the warehouse" Croc told her. "I'll teach you how to use a gun". Ana raised her eyebrows.
"Show me huh?" she asked him. Croc grinned, exposing a mouth that was almost full of gold teeth.
"Yeah. You wanna learn?"
"Well duh!" Ana said. "Come and show me now!"
