Finding a place to sleep was easier said than done since there were no signs or posters or anything remotely helpful to find a motel or bunkhouse or whatever to pass the night in. So I had to work and conform with whatever was at hand. Those things resulted in a couple of wet cardboard pieces and a lot of muddy rags scattered across the narrow streets.

I could have sewed the rags together, but I had no needle or thread to work with, but my knowledge at least helped me to tie them together in the right manner to create a very rough pillow.

Calling it a rock would be a better fit.

I was already missing the shelter back at Menagerie. It had showers, even if they were communal, but showers nevertheless.

But here?

It would be the understatement of the century to say that I didn't have a good night, even less a good morning since I woke up with a headache thanks to my badly improvised rag pillow, which thankfully was gone in a matter of minutes. Compared to yesterday, the slums looked better illuminated, and I dare to say, more lively. So there was plenty of time to explore and keep looking for the exit of this shithole.

Eventually I halted mid-step and turned my head back to the cardboard bed where I slept in. I frowned when an internal argument took place in my mind between taking the makeshift bed or not before resuming my search of the river bank. Such a small action wouldn't cost me anything thanks to my inventory but I certainly didn't want to bring it with me. It was supposed to be a onetime thing after all and I didn't want the reminder of sleeping on the streets like a rat.

It is degrading.

But that developed into a secondary problem as a mob of people, faunus to be exact, poured into the street and surrounded me, blocking me from leaving my spot. Unlike the last ambush, all of them had a weapon of sorts ready to use them against me.

Metal or wooden bats, chains, and even knives.

Even though this unfriendly group doesn't wear a uniform of sorts as it is a mismatch of clothes, they all did share similar faunus traits like the antlers and horns at top of their heads, that is why I could classify them as faunus in the first place.

I glanced at my sides just to confirm the obvious before my eyes land on an approaching bull faunus with a murderous look on his face while pointing his hammer at me. "Speak up, boy! Why is trash from skull breakers in our territory?"

"Skull breakers?" My head cocks to the side in confusion. It is the first time I've ever heard that name, but my mind hastily connects the dots after glancing down at my hoodie and the large skull drawing.

Rather than speaking up for my case, I pull down my hoodie and proudly reveal my cat ears to let them explain by themselves, along with my tail.

"Wait, you are a faunus. Those punks are exclusively human. How come you are wearing their symbol?" The effects are immediate as his eyes widen, lowering his weapon, but the rest of the crew keeps their guard up.

I scrunch up my face in surprise. That explains why those assholes attacked me yesterday, out of nowhere.

"They tried to pick a fight with me, keyword tried. It took one broken nose to have them running, so I took this from them. Probably should have taken other things, but I didn't bother chasing them." I lied in the last part. There is no need for them to learn about my poor attempts to knock out a nameless thug.

My brief explanation earned a chuckle from his part. "Ironic. Those racist fucks got their ass handed by a faunus."

Judging by their numbers, they could have done the same with that group, but I will take his strange praise in silence and try to walk away since we technically cleared the misunderstanding up.

Yet two deer faunus immediately step in, blocking my path with a malicious look while tightening their grip on their blunt weapons.

I turned my head with a raised brow to the supposed boss who is no longer amused, "So… Can I leave?"

"We have rules, boy. You must pay your dues for coming into our territory."

Yeah, unbiased gang things.

"You can't be serious. What happened to the motto, 'faunus have to stick together'?" My words caused everyone to exchange glances in confusion, making me sigh and raise my fists. "Be my fucking guests then."

"Oi, we said nothing about fighting. You simply need to pay respect to the king." He raises one hand while lowering the other to gesture to the rest to calm down.

"And you will leave me alone after that?"

"You can fuck off after that."

I eyed my surroundings once more, both sides cut off by the henchmen but above is clear with some windows frames and small gaps suitable to latch on. I could try to make a run for it using my aura enhanced jump to get out, but that would turn everyone hostile towards me, while I only have a metal stick to defend myself.

Besides, they know the area much better than me. I'm confident in my ability to outrun them and leave their territory, but I could land in another gang's territory and they may be less… diplomatic.

They are seemingly my best chance to dig some information and maybe even a ticket out of here.

I loosened my stance. "Fine. Let's make this quick."

My acceptance of his forceful invitation is the signal everyone around us was waiting to lower their weapons and leave.

The bull man gestures to me to follow him to a narrow alley. He couldn't help but make things extra suspicious than already are, could he?

At the end of the alley, a metal door stands, where he knocks thrice and steps aside as the guard behind opens and invites me inside.

I am really getting bad vibes from the whole thing, and in an enclosed space my aura won't help me with jumping to avoid being overwhelmed by sheer numbers but there is at least some level of trust with words, they are faunus not humans but I don't want my hopes crushed as well. At least I will try to keep my word and go through a misplaced sense of honor, if you could call it that.

The building has dim lights, not like it is an issue for the narrow corridors with many doors on each side and my natural night vision, the guard merely points at the door with a big golden ring and horns before returning to his post at the entrance. Walking towards my new destination, I could listen loud voices and laughter behind those good looking wooden doors. Unlike the exteriors, the inside looks maintained, not to be in tiptop shape but enough to be presentable.

The very first thing I acknowledge is the size of the room. It is surprisingly spacious despite having a narrow corridor and tight spaces in the exteriors. Opening the door wider, I see the entire room covered in curtains with designs and tapestry on the walls giving it a sense of exotic elegance, very ironic knowing the reality of what is outside of the building.

An overweight hairy man lying on his sofa carelessly dressed and so absorbed playing games on his scroll that doesn't acknowledge my entrance. I don't call his attention immediately and use the chance to get a better look at this gang boss.

His lengthy voluminous hazel hair is well kept, or I should call it mane since it connected the long hair to his beard and mustache. The big rounded ears at the top of his head are a dead giveaway, after all.

But it is strange, or I should say ironic, that a lion faunus is in charge of the gang that seemed to have a… herbivore theme. Though the crooks referred him as king, so it was a foreshadowing of sorts.

Suddenly the lion growls and tosses his scroll to the back of his room with no care in the world and widens his black eyes as he finally notices my presence adopting a feral grin, "So you are the little runt that beat up that stupid human gang."

How does he know about that? I just recently told the guy back in the streets, unless he was hearing from this very room.

But those are secondary thoughts, knowing that I will sacrifice a bit of my dignity and bow in respect, "Thank you for your invitation, great one, there was never any intention to intrude in your territor-"

"Oi oi, what with the bullshit atlesian speech? Speak like a normal faunus."

I stare with a blank expression for a moment before pinching the bridge of my nose and a long sigh escaping my lips, "I will say whatever is necessary to leave this awful place. So why am I forced to be here?"

He slowly gets up from his sofa and approaches me. "Taking out an entire gang by yourself isn't exactly… normal. Which means you had an advantage, something special and powerful… Aura, to be exact."

"And?"

"Simple, finding… unaffiliated guys with aura is almost impossible in these parts, those bastards are swift to snatch them." His words clearly hint an invitation to his organization, which makes me frown in disapproval.

"Stop right there. I don't want to join any gang or do anything related to this… mess. Some assholes dropped here me and I just want to leave this shitty area of Vale."

Laughably, he tries to prove his superiority by trying to tower over me with a glare, "You know it is very hard to leave the slums, don't you?"

"Hard? I merely need to find the river and follow the stream to reach the bridges to the industrial area." I scoff, folding my arms.

He merely looks at me with a smirk, blatantly showing his contempt, "Let me correct you right there runt, you will find no river bank here. They walled the entire slums off from the rest of the city to keep us… contained. Having access to the river would give many opportunities to visit the rest of the city, after all."

"…shit" That new discovery throws a wrench into my plan. The stupid map omitted that tiny little detail.

I want to be angry but this is my fault for not bothering to check for more information and now this asshole knows my issue. His grin from ear to ear told me much.

"Oh shit indeed, thankfully for you I know a way out."

"And you want money?" My right hand hides into my stash pocket from the prying eyes as I take some lien from my inventory. A few hundreds might loosen his tongue.

He instead throws his head back in laughter, "HA! You are trapped here. What money can you offer me?" no lien for you then, "No, since you don't want to join, then I want a… favor, yes a favor."

I know where this is going and my brain kicks in as I take one step back and raise my fists. "I'm not killing people."

The lion man remains unfazed and shakes his head. "Nothing of the sorts, I assure you." He brings his watch close to him and speaks to it. "Bring me the map, quick."

So that is how he communicates fast.

I keep my guard up, glaring at the boss while my ears try to pick up anything from the outside, which proves fruitful as they hear the growing sound of footsteps approaching us.

Soon after the door opens and a skinny faunus with small antlers enters with a large scroll of paper, he leaves just as quick after handing it to the boss who promptly roll it open on a large metallic table and reveals a large map of the young district, a relatively big zone marked with red, "This is my land, right at our west frontier is territory of the Boyz, a mixed bag of idiots. They had the gall to steal our members and start probing our streets, disrupting our protection fees."

I let my guard down as I mostly focus on the map in general, trying to find the main street and the exits of which there are four, all of them located to the west. "Okay? So you want me to beat them up? Seems easy enough."

Rushing in and taking them out one by one before they manage to regroup would be the best strategy to deal with their numerical advantage, still I will be embroiled in gang warfare despite it being just one small task.

"Oh no no no, if it were that simple, we would have taken care of that a long time ago. You see, the reason we couldn't act is that this particular gang has a human named Andros with aura. There is little we can do against him." He pulls out a monochrome picture of a rough looking human, his most notable feature, his round bald head filled with linear tattoos.

"And this is where I come, right?"

A seemingly fair fight, aura vs aura. Yet I do not know how long that human had his aura unlocked, while mine was only a couple of months old. But I am sure of my advantage in training, thanks to Blake and her sparring sessions.

He nods. "You catch on quickly. Just defeat this bastard and it will send all those fuckers running to their holes."

"And after doing this, I get my ticket out of here, right?"

"Simple job, don't you agree?"

I mull over his offer. I really want to leave this shithole as soon as possible and sleeping on the streets wasn't an enjoyable experience. Yet considering what I will have to do makes me frown in deep thoughts, carefully thinking of the hypothetical scenarios.

I shake my head and direct my gaze to the grinning lion's eyes, I won't cower in fear and doubt. I have fought the Grimm in Menagerie. A mere human with a mediocre aura won't be a deterrent or send me running with my tail between my legs.

"Fine."

The crooked faunus claps his hand once and returns to his sofa. "Good choice."

"However, I need a weapon and a new set of clothes." I quickly set my terms. I won't be fighting that meathead unarmed and looking like a hobo.

"You heard the runt." He raises an eyebrow but shrugs and speaks to his watch again.

Moments later, the door opens with another henchman carrying a large duffle bag and placing it on the table and opening the zipper, revealing a vast selection of weapons inside before the guy poured everything on the table and left.

"Take your pick, runt." The lions speak up again, ignoring his men's total disregard for decency. He could have handed me the bag or dropped it on the table without causing an entire mess of the place.

That mild annoyance becomes secondary as I approach the pile of weapons and carefully rummage through them to avoid cutting myself and come to the unfortunate discovery that it doesn't have a vast selection but a very limited type of small weaponry, knives or sticks.

Practically useless.

But that doesn't discourage me on my search and keep looking deeper, pushing everything to the left side to make my search easier which proves correct actions as I find a thick rusty chain but I put it on my right side, if I find nothing else I could always wrap that around my hands to get extra power on my punches, not ideal but it can work.

But that idea is soon discarded as my eyes land in the best find from the pile, a pair of thick brass knuckles which I don't hesitate to grab and try them on, a perfect fit between my fingers, and let my natural affinity take a hold of me for a moment as I practice my unarmed strikes on the air.

I didn't know how much I missed a weapon after losing mine.

"Close and personal, eh?" the gang boss comments, trying to lighten the mood but after I only reply with a flat look, "Don't look at me like that. I too like to do stuff with my own hands."

"It would be great if these had spikes."

It would make them more effective against Grimm for one and damaging other's aura.

"So you are not okay with killing, but maiming is totally fine? I don't get you runt."

I shrug, I won't spend a single second explaining to him the difference or the advantages of auras, like yeah if I use spiked brass knuckles against common folk it would leave a very nasty wound but against someone with aura it wouldn't leave a mark unless I shatter their aura.

"The clothes?"

"Bring it."

To his signal, another guy entered the room carrying two plastic bags, but rather than making his way to the table, he just tossed both bags to me and left. I couldn't catch them, as their directions were way off the mark.

Not wasting more time, I check the contents and the first bag has shirts while the other has pants and a pair of leather boots.

I empty both bags on the floor and pick a dark blue slim shirt from the pile, before discarding my dirty clothes, not caring that I have an audience who also isn't interested in watching me change. Then I grabbed a pair of brown pants to match the leather boots.

Good thing that we are all faunus as the pants had a hole for my tail.

I wish there was a mirror to appreciate my new city look, but my eyes will do just fine. "The pants feel a bit loose, but it will do for now, so where can I find this guy?"

The lion faunus turns his head in surprise with both ears standing in full attention, "So soon?"

"The sooner I finish, the faster I can leave." I state, as a matter of fact, staying one more night inside this ghetto is out of the question.

He rests his head on the palm of his left hand in thought, which doesn't last very long as he quickly taps his watch, "Be my guest. You are lucky they haven't moved in weeks from their warehouse. A group is waiting for you outside."

"Wait, why the group?" I ask in surprise. His effectiveness to get shit done is really something to be praised. Also, I didn't expect to have other with me in this stupid errand.

The jungle king merely raises an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't we take advantage of looting the place after your victory?"

"Whatever, let's move." I leave his presence and then head outside through the only corridor and just like he said, a sizable group is waiting outside, the same bull guy acting as the lead.

He is the first to note my arrival and beckons me to reach my target location. He is somewhere in the western frontier, so I follow without saying a word.

Only two things were noteworthy of mention in our brief journey were the streets growing in size and actual people, not gangsters, though they all shared the common pissed miserable face until they saw my group and ran away in fright.

That solidifies their claim on the territory.

With the sun still up in the sky, we reach a rundown building with the paint peeling off the walls and broken windows, yet it isn't an abandoned building, as there are many guards standing around who hurriedly turn their attention to us in unison. The reaction is immediate as one of them yells in panic and an alarm bell sets off.

A large man, a bald human with tattoos, kicked open the main entrance with two goons by his side. "So Scar didn't learn his lesson. Does the kitty want another spanking?" And to follow the idiotic stereotype, his goons burst into forced idiotic laughter.

So the gang boss's name is Scar? I am slightly surprised at hearing that name since he doesn't even have one, at least a visible one.

My group maintains their position but moves aside, leaving me the path open to make my presence known, which I take and stand face to face with my target. "Are you Andros?"

He grins as removes his jacket and shirt before tossing them to one of his goons, proudly displaying his bare, hardened chest with a large stabbed heart tattoo on his chest, "In the flesh. Does the kitten want to play fetch?"

He doesn't pull any punches with his looks, does he?

"You clearly weren't picked for your brains if you don't even know what a dog is. You have two at your side, though."

"Shut your hole." He growls, one foot moving to the back while his sidekicks back away and one of them runs inside.

I also adopt my combat stance and raise my weapons. "Let's end this."

The minor thug that left the scene comes back running and dragging a thick chain, which Andros swiftly snatches it from his hands and wraps it around his right hand before glaring at me with a feral grin, "As you wish."

As soon as he finished, he shot his chain forward with surprising speed, catching me off guard and forcing me to block the incoming attack with both arms. Except the strike never reached me as the chain somehow sneaked past and coiled around them like a constricting snake.

Instinctively, I try to break free but the muscle head doesn't even give me a chance as he yanks my entire weight with his chain, throwing me off balance and using the new momentum to briskly pull me towards his position and greet me with a direct reinforced punch to the face, slamming into the floor.

I'm laying on the floor looking at the sky wide-eyed, my brain still processing the shock of the sudden turn of events. Blake's sparring sessions didn't prepare me for something like this. It just clicked in my mind that she always has been in more technical moves than plain brute strength. Grimm are predictable enemies, he clearly isn't as predictable as I assumed he would be, and his link chain weapon only makes him more erratic.

One thing I can say for sure, thank the gods for aura or he would have knocked out a couple of teeth. Instead, I only have a searing pain in my right cheek that will soon be gone if I ignore it.

Sadly, I can't ignore it after the brutish man kicks me in the face and then steps on top of it in sheer arrogant dominance. "You aren't dead? No wonder Scar sent you to fight me. You unlocked your aura. So, why don't you join us instead of that fucking zoo?"

"I… want nothing to do with this fucking… gang politics. I just want to leave this fucking cesspool." I snarl between my gritted teeth, as this bastard was increasing the weight on his foot.

"One favor for another, shame."

Andros removes his foot, giving me seconds to breathe before he yank his chain, taking my entire body with it and sending me crashing against the main entrance of the building, completely shattering the wooden doors. The full physical force is brutally stopped by a pillar where my back takes the full force of the throw and knocking out the air from my lungs before my body fall on top of a pile of gray powder that cushion my fall but engulf my entire body in a toxic cloud that prevents me from breathing.

Using a little of strength, I roll away and land hard on the floor where I try to pull myself together before he arrives and continues his assault.

Thankfully, my regeneration quickly sets in but I opt to remain laying on the floor watching the direction where I came flying. Soon after, the bastard comes through the broken door grinning widely while twirling his chain in his hand, his sadistic eyes solely focused on my downed form.

I become tense and prepare my muscles to evade that cursed chain but he doesn't use it, instead he slowly walks towards me, making me wonder if he intends to grab me or whip me at close range.

My brass knuckles are at an awful disadvantage in terms of range but he is voluntarily closing the gap. I only need to find the perfect time for my counterattack. Blake was very thoughtful in teaching me counter moves.

The bald gangster finally stands above me and kicks me a few times to check my status. Those weren't weak kicks, either.

Falsely believing his victory, he tries to reach me with his hand, giving me the perfect chance to make my move.

Just like that gang leader, my hand shoots forwards and grasps his wrist before pulling him even closer and getting a free swing at his tattooed face, except he proves quick reaction time, my hand missing his cheekbone entirely.

Instead, my knuckles reach his nose in full force, followed by an elbow to his mouth.

My eyes shoot open in utter surprise when I see a flickering reddish light around his body as he recoils in pain, with Blake's teachings I can recognize the dangerous low level of aura, meaning this idiot has barely reserves or my punches have more strength than expected.

But it was another terrible mistake on my part to stay still in awe with him not fully defeated as he connects a chain reinforced uppercut right on under my chin, stunning me as my vision goes blurry and my vice grip on his wrist completely lost.

Another strike against my chest knocks me off my feet. My arms immediately go into action and push my body off the ground as I avoid a second strike. The man roars in anger as he begins a flurry of punches, every single one of them missing the mark.

"Stay still!" He yells as his last attack misses my head.

"Fuck no."

Andros is panting at this point, giving me false hope of a quick end. Instead, he jumps away and brings his chain forward.

It tries to reach for my leg, but I leapt forward, avoiding his ranged weapon and taking away his advantage.

I see the realization turn into fear in his face, his feet scrambling to get away as I successfully close the distance between us and lunge with a hook to his stomach. He grunts in pain but tolerates the hit nevertheless and tries to respond in kind, but I am already behind him where I land another free hit on his back, followed by a kick on his back knee, forcing him to drop on one knee. Without hesitation, I jump and reach for his neck, forming a tight lock around it.

The second I strangle him, he lets out a primal roar and flails his body wildly, like an enraged bull trying to throw me off. And his hands failing to reach me.

I only apply more pressure around him, but his neck muscles prove highly effective in resisting my grapple, but I understand my advantage and time is on my side.

At least, that was the plan.

The bastard leaps into the air and lets gravity do its work, slamming his back on the floor with my poor body taking the full brunt of the fall.

I take sharp gasps as I hold my tongue from screaming. My lungs instantly force me to cough and wheeze. Even with my aura successfully saving me from being squashed like a bug, it failed to protect me from the kinetic force that reached my internal organs.

In hindsight, I shouldn't have tried to strangle a person double, if not triple, my weight.

Thankfully, Andros isn't any better as he slowly rolls to the left, panting and labored breaths trying to recover from his near death experience.

From the corner of my eyes, I notice his chain completely unattended. Without thinking it twice, I take one deep breath and pounce on my objective.

[Steel chain added to your inventory.]

I let out a short pained laugh after my theory is proven correct; the asshole has been successfully disarmed.

"S-semblance?!" He manages to squeeze between shallow breaths and tries to rise from the floor.

However, I am first in achieving that endeavor thanks to my regeneration and charge with my knuckle ready. My attack reached its mark right in his mouth, a single attack more than enough to shatter his aura completely.

It is the first time I ever seen an aura shattering. There is an abstract beauty in watching the reddish aura shards dissipate into nothingness.

But I don't feel satisfied, not in the slightest.

The bastard made me suffer for my victory way more than anticipated. I could somewhat accept Blake beating me because she is my mentor and was trained, but this bastard is a wannabe thug from the streets. My pride won't allow it.

Towering above his downed form, I straddle his unconscious body and start my relentless assault on his tattooed face.

Without aura protecting him, I draw blood with the second punch, my brass knuckles doing way more damage, leaving nasty cuts and breaking his lips.

He is unconscious, but that doesn't stop me from keeping my assault until I could quench that boiling anger within me.

After a while, I slow down. My arms feel tired from repeating the same violent action without a break.

My attention shifts to Andros, taking a moment to appreciate my morbid handiwork.

He is unrecognizable, his face red and swollen, profusely bleeding from the many cuts I inflicted.

"And stay down, you fucking prick." I spit on his bloody, broken face as I released my grip on him and wiped his blood off my hands on the floor.

I only get shallow gurgling sounds in response.

'Status'

Ma'iq Rakhan

Race–Feline Faunus

Age 17

Class: The pugilist

Level–4 (33%)

Mentor – Blake Belladonna

Apprentice–None

HP – 398/410 [45 regen per minute]

MP – 581/1650 [350 regen per minute]

SP – 787/1850 [200 regen per minute]

STR–26

END–33

DEX–30

INT–27

WIS–24

CHA–25

LCK–10

I sigh in disappointment. My level of progress is stuck in the same percentage. Defeating people doesn't help to increase my level. Unlike the thugs from yesterday who only needed a couple of hits to have them running like rats, I defeated Andros in every sense of the word, and my system didn't react.

But that train of thought immediately invited the idea to snap his neck and test if that would give me experience points. It would be too easy and nobody would miss this piece of garbage, just one more dead in a broken world where death is as common as bread. Besides, I practically left him at death's door.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

I slap my forehead to push those dangerous thoughts away. What actually matters is that I completed my job, so now is time to cash in my reward and leave this fucking hellhole. And find an actual bed to drop dead for the day.

I turn around and check my surroundings but find nobody watching, but I am sure everyone is already aware of my victory.

The group leader must be outside waiting, so I should just invite them in and let them do their thing and contact Scar.

I summon back the steel chain and throw it away before storing my brass knuckles. I still don't know if I have a limit in this mystical inventory but I don't want that weapon, not like I had any use for it anyway.

With the new found silence, my ears twitch. It is unbecoming from the victor side to be so calm. They should have rushed inside and started looting a while ago.

I need to investigate.

The second I set one foot outside, I only manage to see a blurry image before my chest explodes in pain, my vision dangerously seeing black spots as I crash on the floor with a thud.

[Aura broken! MP regeneration halted for an hour.]

Barely any time to worry about the quick notification, tightly clutching my chest and gasping for air as my lungs had none in them. Even that small task is a grueling torture.

Not even that monkey Grimm back at Menagerie made me suffer so much.

And for my very unlucky self, I landed in the wrong position since my tail was hurting as well.

"See Renny? I told you there were bad guys inside!" A loud cheery voice calls out, I am too busy trying to not scream to see the psycho girl.

"We should tread carefully Nora, we don't know if they are lying in wait to ambush us." A more calm voice replies.

"We will break their legs too!"

Even in my agony, I can understand why nobody came looking for me. That dangerous duo has taken care of them, and if that brutish girl isn't joking, then they are also cripple.

I crack open one eye, the attackers already towering over my aura less body with weapons ready, and the giant hammer between the ginger girl hands told me enough who was the one who shattered my aura.

"What… the fuck? Just… why?" I rasp out, writhing on the floor.

"Well, you are a bad guy, and we punish bad guys, duh." She states, as a matter of fact, causing me to glare at her.

"Is it because I am a faunus?" I ask in blind anger.

"Uuuh what?" Pinky tilts her head in confusion.

"Fucking racist bitch…"

I don't know why I am even playing the race card against them. My injury doesn't let me think straight and whatever is legit to avoid getting my legs broken.

Her partner in crime quickly steps in with a deep frown on his face, clearly not happy with my accusation. "You were working with the faunus gang in fighting a rival group. They even called you their trump card. That's more than enough evidence against you."

Assholes…

"Fuck you, they embroiled me in this mess against my will! Of course, I will fight if it keeps my skin safe!" I shamelessly lied to their faces, well not exactly a lie since I voluntarily came to fight that bastard, but it was because I needed a way out of this ghetto.

An awkward silence soon follows.

Nora, I believe she was called, turns to her companion and scratches her head, looking confused. "….oops?"

"Explain." He demands as he holsters his weapons on his belt…somehow. Now that I am getting a better view, they have quite the interesting design, similar to mine but they can cut instead.

I stare at his pink eyes in silence for a few seconds before shifting my gaze to the matching pink girl and sighing, at least the pain is subsiding, "Just give a moment… if it wasn't for my aura that fucking hammer would have shattered my ribs and puncture a lung or something."

"Sorry." The bubbly girl is no longer so cheerful.

I slowly drag my body towards the nearest wall and use the surface to push myself from the floor and take a sitting position. "Whatever… long story short. I was kidnapped and dropped into this ghetto. Those assholes you beat up outside held me hostage and pitted me against another asshole with an aura. Obviously, I won the fight, and I was happy that I earned my freedom. Instead, I am rewarded with a hammer to the face." I finish my story, glaring at the girl.

"Renny?" She slowly turns to look at the boy, who also looks conflicted.

I sigh in relief. Their troubled expressions already tell me they aren't psychotic bastards and that my legs are safe.

"I apologize. We shouldn't have acted so fast. Is there anything you need?" Renny finally speaks up.

"Just help me leave this fucking place. I really hate it here." I gesture at the room with both hands, but quickly return them around my chest, wincing in pain.

"Oh, that's easy! Come on, let's catch the bus." She happily exclaims as she straps her big hammer on her back.

"…What?" I ask after a moment.

"The bus, you silly!" She reiterates while approaching with a big smile, "It will take us to Vale super fast!."

Public transport? Why did nobody tell…

Scar, you fucking lying piece of shit. I will shave your entire fucking head if I ever see your stupid face again. Only I know the way out. Fucking lies.

"Can you stand on your own?" The pale boy asks in concern, shaking me off my murderous thoughts.

I take one deep breath and hold it for a few seconds, only to abruptly release it in a coughing fit.

"Kinda? I need some time to recover… little help?" I sheepishly extend my right arm. With my aura broken, my regeneration is not that effective despite the numbers showing technically a healthy status.

At least inhaling and exhaling isn't burning my lungs like before, but I still cannot breathe properly.

"Giddy up!" The very out of place cheerful ginger girl somehow, without me noticing, has me on her back for a long piggy-ride.

"…I'm not a horse."

And be more gentle dammit!

-Neo Politan-

"Please! Give us a five… NO… three days, THREE!"

There are times she wonders why she even bothers in giving them a chance to make up excuses if they only repeat the same words every single time. That just removes the excitement and proves they are all the same.

"I swear we will recover everything from those animals!" The useless thug fruitlessly promised. A quick glance around the room told her more than enough how impossible it would be to even recover a single piece.

Their muscle is practically dead on the floor and a random huntress crippled most of their members, if their claims are to be believed.

Roman was right in sending her to clean up the mess, despite how much she disliked the idea of a boring, menial task. She will poke him to death!

"Please, tell Torchwick to give one last cha-" She didn't even give him the chance to finish his sentence, using her boot to stomp on his head to finally shut his blabbering and hearing the satisfying crack.

.

One down, a couple more to go.

She calmly rested her umbrella on her shoulder as she walked further into the room, looking for the rest of the trash. And funnily enough, she caught sight of a couple more thugs dragging their bodies away, not like they could walk with those mangled legs.

She had to give credit to that strange huntress. She unknowingly set her up for a great cat-and-mouse game. And the kitty cat is hungry!

Setting her sigh on a new target, she skipped towards him as she pulled out her spike from the umbrella. But it would be boring to just stab him. Closing one eye, she aimed for a specific part and threw her blade, burying deep into his back.

Another little mouse was eaten.

It was fun. She couldn't deny it. But Roman might scold her if she didn't gather some information first. Good thing the thief had set up hidden cameras through the warehouse. One quick downland of the camera feed and she could resume her games.

Pulling her scroll out and scrolling down for the correct app, she immediately got wireless access to the database after typing the security pin.

In the meantime, while the video finished loading, she picked up her weapon and throw again in a different direction, getting a shriek of terror in response.

They can't hide from her, and she would gladly let them know.

Her scroll pinged and quickly brought it up to watch closely. Those idiots blamed everything on the huntress. How much that was true?

She was about to know.

Except she saw something, someone, totally unexpected. Her exotic pet was the main responsible for the failure of those rodents. He single-handedly defeated the big muscle head. Well, he had some hiccups here and there, but he defeated him all the same.

And he showed off his aura and semblance as well, a storage semblance of sorts. Now that made him even more exotic. She couldn't hide her pouting. She should have ignored Dum Dum and put a collar on him back at Kuo Kuana.

A big box of mysteries and she will be the one unveil them one by one.

She frowned when her soon to become pet was brought down by the huntress hammer. At least those idiots were half right, the pink girl was clearly a huntress in training and she wasn't alone.

Shame they took him, but she had a job to finish. Cropping the video only to extract the important bits before looking for her only contact.

She was practically done anyway. She should give Roman the heads up.

Neo: Done.

Roman: Fantastic. Found something interesting from our cameras?

Neo: Yup.

Her lips curled into a grin as she clicked the send button with the video clips attached. She wished so much to be present to watch his reactions and maybe snap a picture or two.

-Ma'iq Rakhan-

"How can people call this a bus? That looks like a military truck!" I point out the offending objective. I assumed they took me to a military outpost or something.

I still don't get it. The vehicle looks inefficient to transport people from point A to point B. It has very few seats and those seats are divided by metallic walls, making communication between passengers virtually impossible. But that doesn't faze those two, who look at the vehicle again and shrug.

"Is it a bus, though?"

"You really see nothing wrong with it?" I ask and they shake their heads, making me sigh in defeat. "Either way, thank you for taking me out of there."

"Is okay! That's the least we could do after that…" The ginger girl trails off looking down in embarrassment.

"Fuck up? I can throw that under the water, you apologized after all. By the way, what are your names? We didn't have a proper introduction, not like the bus gave us the opportunity."

I didn't even saw the driver.

She immediately jumps to opportunity with a grin, "Nora Valkyrie!"

"And my name is Lie Ren." The more calm member introduces himself.

"Well Nora, Ren? I'm Ma'iq Rakhan. It's a pleasure meeting you both." I extend my right open hand. Nora doesn't waste time to take it with both her hands and shake like there is no tomorrow. She has a powerful grip. "Just don't make a habit of meeting people by smashing their faces." I pull away my hand from her and give Ren a firm nod.

Showing off her very active nature, she grabs her partner's hand and drags him in the opposite direction, "Let's go, Renny!"

I watch them disappear after crossing a sliding door, bypassing everything, and I think someone is already following them. Nora might have gotten themselves into trouble, which I don't want to get involved in.

Unlike them, I follow the assigned pathway to leave the station.

"Excuse me, are you registered?" A deep voice stops me in my tracks, making me turn around and see a tall man dressed in a blue uniform, a matching blue hat, which looks more like a helmet and a rather big silver badge on top of his heart.

So this is the famous Vale Police Department.

"Registered? Why would I need to do that?" I ask, rather confused.

The police officer clears his throat and pulls out a scroll. "You come from the young district. We must make sure you are registered to avoid criminals infesting the streets. Is a quick process, it won't even take a minute."

I freeze in place. "Shit…" I can hear the old hobo cackling in the distance for being proven right.

"Oh, you aren't." He presses something on his scroll before putting it away. "Don't worry, just come to the census office and we will add your profile to the database and ask a few questions."

I bit my lip, my mind gripped with fear, but I dispel those thoughts. I shouldn't be afraid since I have done nothing wrong.

"Lead the way, officer." I drop my shoulder in defeat and sigh. Today felt endless and it might get even longer. Call it a gut feeling.

But I won't make it worse on purpose.

I only hope that this questioning doesn't take hours.

Spoilers ahead, it did.

AN: How did this chapter turn out this long? I don't think it will be possible to keep up this size. Anyway, thank you for over 100 favs and now we have close to 200 follows, so keep pumping those numbers… would you kindly? Pretty please?

Also, I'm using a new tool to work on the grammar and other things, dunno how that turned out. I used it for this chapter and the first one, you can tell me in the reviews if there is an improvement or not.