Chapter 11

Lesson 6:There is no honor among thieves.

"Ne! Ne! Tou-Koushin! Wake up!" the fox shook a limp figure. She did not move or speak. "She is completely drained." Koronue said over his shoulder. "Is she dead Koronue?" the bat put his fingers around her pulse mark on her neck. "Her heart beat is slow, but steady. She just needs rest."

"That was pretty amazing, what she did."

"Hai, clever girl, that one; tricking it to think she wasn't there. It back fired, but she at least has some control over her reiki."

"Lets quit for the day; who know how long she could be out cold?" the fox carried her back to the hideout, talking more about her reiki abilities. "What sort of weapon do you think she will make?"

"No way of telling for sure, but I can see her with a bow or a rei-gun; something light and graceful."

"I hope she is an earth sign, or a water."

"Looking for a match?" Koronue teased.

"Oh, stop it." The fox laughed. He laid Tou-Kou on a couch and left the room. His thoughts went back to Tou-Kou; he was planning her next training session. The bat stared at him; he seemed about to say something but stopped. Youko noticed him staring and stared back. "What?"

"Nothing."

A few hours later, Tou-Kou woke up. Youko said she was ready for her first mission. Koronue did not approve, but who listens to him anymore? "Start small," he warned, "don't get her killed because you want to test her skills."

"Ne! What does that mean? Trust me, I have just the thing." They two bandits lead her through the woods, to a village not far off. The plan was to steal from a bank. The sun was setting, making everything orange and yellow. Youko had worked his fox-craft on each of them, disguising their faces and clothes as beggars. Koronue led the way, Tou-Kou in the middle behind him, and Youko protected her from behind and kept any one off their trail. They each appeared to be dressed in old brown cloaks and wide brimmed hats.

They stood across the cobble stone street from the bank building. Low classed demons and apparitions went peacefully about their business around them. Koronue began to speak in a low tone, "Where do we go from here?" Youko twitched his ears uncomfortably under the hat.

"It would be easier to go in before it closes and hide until every one leaves, unless Tou-Kou thinks she can sneak in after the doors are locked." He winked at his student. " You said you would start small, fox." Koronue warned.

"What? She can be pretty sneaky when she wants to be."

"We're taking the easy way this time, her face isn't known in the world of crime, and I plan to keep it that way." Koronue stated firmly. His extravagant friend hissed at him, "Party pooper. Say, where is Tou-Kou?" Koronue looked around, he did not see her. "Where is she? She was here a moment ago,"

"Do you think she was kidnapped already?"

"No, there she is! She went ahead without us!" he pointed to the bank; sure enough, she was leaning casually against the door before she slipped inside. The two filed through the crowds in the street and entered the bank. Youko had to use his nose to find her, he was led into a lavatory, a men's lavatory. The door had been locked and a sign hung on the doorknob that read 'out of order.' Picking the lock was no task, as soon as he entered; he saw her sitting on the sink. "Tou-Kou! Are you crazy? Why did you leave us behind?" he whispered; his voice was magnified on the smooth tiled walls. Koronue took his disguise hat off to reveal his black hat. "It doesn't really matter now, she got in and found a place to hide." She smiled and crossed her arms. Youko took his hat of too; his fox-craft disguise disappeared. His tone became strict and his expression fierce. "That was reckless, never do that again, understand?"

Tou-Kou's smile faded quickly and she looked away from him in shame. He raised his voice to her, "Tou-Kou!"

"I UNDERSTAND!!" her voice dwarfed his own. He made a move as if to hit her; she jumped and ran away from him, locking her self in a stall. Youko leapt to follow her; Koronue grabbed the fox's arms and held him back. He shook his head at Youko, "She didn't know, she's new to this sort of thing." The fox glared angrily at the stall door as if he could set it aflame wit his gaze. His anger slowly ebbed away, he sighed. "I'm just worried about her."

The sun had descended into the horizon, the streets were empty, and so was the bank. Youko led the way out of the lavatory and into the lobby. This was a plain building with linoleum floors and a brick exterior. The smooth floors were kept shiny and clean, so shiny that one's entire reflection could be seen when looking down. Tou-Kou was very nervous, she did not want to disappoint Youko again, even though she was upset he had tried to hit her. "This bank doesn't have a mobile guard but it is always necessary to keep absolutely quiet; and out of sight." Youko interrupted her thoughts. In the center of the building, a long counter divided the area in half. On this counter were bars that would protect the clerks. Many bell shaped openings were cut into the bars to trade through.

Youko hopped up onto the counter, "Step one: infiltration. Lets see you get through here." He motioned to the bars. Tou-Kou clambered awkwardly onto the counter and examined the bars carefully. A friend of her father's was a skilled blacksmith; he allowed her to watch him work if she helped stoke the fires in his shop. She had but a little of his expertise, but that was all she needed. She walked back and forth across the bars, examining them carefully. She saw one she liked and tapped on it, it made a sound like shoddy craftsmanship; she grabbed a hold of it and wrenched it out of its place. She put the bar down and walked between the bars. Youko nodded approvingly and followed her.

 "Step two: penetrating obstacles; namely locks, seals, etcetera." He went on. Tou-Kou looked around and spied the vault. It had a big black pad lock on it. She thought for a moment and examined the lock's exterior. Made of wrought iron and rusty; she gave it a fruitless tug. She peered into the absurdly large keyhole; it looked rusty as well. She pulled a hook hidden in the hem of her tunic and stuck it in the keyhole. Fiddling around, she caught it on a spring and pulled as hard as she could. The spring snapped easily and the lock hung open. She took the lock off the door and set it to the side. The heavy door swung open with a groan, revealing the treasure with in it.

"Step three: choose something you like." Tou-Kou froze, 'Steal? Actually steal?' She didn't like the thought of committing a crime. She thought back to Youko being angry with her, she shuddered and looked into the vault. Several neat stacks of coins took up much of the space, but here and there was a jewel or a pretty weapon, mere baubles. She saw a case in the back of mahogany wood and gold leaf; some invisible force drew her hands to it and made her choose it. She took this box and turned back to Youko.

"Good. Step four: cover your tracks." He turned and went out through the missing bar. Closing the vault again, she joined Youko and Koronue in the lobby after replacing the misplaced bar. "Not bad, but we aren't finished yet. This last step is the most important, make a clean get away." Koronue nodded. Tou-Kou put her hat back on and tucked the box into her cloak. She looked at the front door but decide against using it. No windows were visible that were big enough to fit through. Then she remembered something, when she was training with her spirit energy. She escaped from the thorns somehow…

Facing a wall near the door she took a deep breath and ran. The wall looked pretty solid, it felt solid too, and she landed on the floor with a sore head and shoulder. "What in the three worlds are you doing?" Koronue and Youko leaned over her. Rubbing her forehead, she stood up. "What are you doing now?" Koronue asked. She started to run again, faster than before. "Tou-Kou, stop! What are you doing!?" She focused in the bricks-of-pain and closed her eyes. She kept running, but the wall never came. She stopped and looked around.

She was in an alley beside the bank, hidden from view. Tou-Kou glanced over her shoulder and saw the wall from whence she came. It still looked quite solid. She had passed through it as if it were air. Being alone scared her, what terrified her more was the thick, stony hand on her shoulder. She was roughly spun around to see a familiar face. Boss.

His gravely hand seized her around the throat "Not a word, onna, or your head goes splat." his gritty whisper warned. He dragged her away from the bank and into a nearby building.

Youko and Koronue appeared in the street soon after. "Where the hell is she? She just walked through the wall!" Youko cursed. Koronue walked around to the alley beside the bank, "if she walked through the wall, she would have ended up here." He pointed to the ground. Youko kneeled and touched the spot, sniffing lightly. "I know that scent, one of the robbers who raided the hide out."

"You don't think…"

"Oh yes, definitely him."

"Where is he now?"

"Hold on," Youko regressed to his fox form and picked up the trail.