Hello everyone! This is the second chapter of my story. In this chapter, I go out on my first heist as a lookout and learn of my nifty powers! XD I'm so excited! I hope you are too! On with the fic!

All disclaimers still apply. .

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Chapter 2

I trained with Ritsu everyday to become a thief. He would make me do lots of things to prepare me. The first task that he had me complete was reading a book he had written of all of the heists he had ever been on. He had written down all of the details, from the planning, to the reconnaissance, and finally the job itself. To me, it was like reading a fairy tale. Many times I sat back and asked myself if Ritsu, the quiet and kind man that cared for me, could really have done all of the things in the book. When I asked Ritsu about it, he only laughed. "Keep reading.", he would always say. From this book of his, I learned about all of my keeper's secrets. And I began to learn. Even though I had not actually done any real training, I knew the correct way to execute many of the skills I would need.

Whenever I wasn't doing chores around the camp, I was reading. And Ritsu would add to the book every time he came back from an assignment. Once I had finished reading all that had been written, I returned the book to my teacher. He took me outside and into the forest. That is where he taught me the real skills that would make me a professional thief. He had set up a training course for me to practice basic skills such as lock picking, sneaking through rooms, scaling walls, and stealth. I would run through these courses for hours each day until I had mastered them, and then Ritsu would change them and the objective. Once I had the basic skills, I moved on to more difficult lessons. I trained for 36 years under Ritsu before he let me accompany him on a heist.

We had set out with three others from our gang: Rei, a panther, Tamo, a lizard, and Shryli, a water nymph. We arrived at the palace. Ritsu told me that it was rather small, so the security probably wouldn't be very hard to deal with. I had never seen such a big building in my life. My teacher only chuckled at my awe-stuck expression. He made his way up to his chosen entry point, a small window.

~*~

"Alright, Soko. This is your first time out in the field.", Ritsu said, looking in through the window. "Even though you're only a look out, I want you to pay attention to everything around you. I want you to learn as much as you can on this job, but I really want you to be safe. Don't let yourself get sidetracked, alright?" He turned his aqua eyes to me, a stern look on his face. I nodded, too anxious to speak. He gave me a reassuring smile and clapped his right hand on my shoulder. "Relax. You'll do fine. I'll be there to help you, and so will the rest of the gang.", he said. I gave him a small smile. "Yeah." Looking back into the palace, Ritsu scanned the hallway for guards and anyone else that could give us trouble. "Ready?", he asked. I nodded. Reaching into his leg pouch he pulled out a glasscutter. He carefully cut a small hole into the glass, catching it as it fell forward into the hallway. With the same hand he opened the lock and pushed the window open. Replacing the glasscutter and glass into his pouch, he took out a length of rope and tied it to one of the nearby gargoyles. "I'll go down first.", he told me. "I'll swing the rope when it's safe to come down."

He made his way down to the floor and looked around. He peeked around the corners to make sure no one was coming. He gave me the signal to follow. I silently scaled the inner wall, stopping just beside Ritsu in the grand hall. Two more of our gang followed, leaving the last to haul the rope back up before anyone could find it. Once everyone was set, we snuck our way through the hallways, avoiding guards and hallways that could lead to dead ends. Within minutes we were standing in front of a large set of wooden doors, reinforced with iron bands. Ritsu made quick work of the lock and opened one of the doors and peeked in. He gave the signal for the other two to go inside. He turned to me. "Now I need you to stand here and watch for anyone that comes by. If you hear anything, tap the door. If you see anyone, get inside. I don't need you getting caught, 'kay?" I looked up at him. "Yeah.", I whispered. He nodded once and disappeared inside the counting room.

I stood flat against the left door, watching and listening. I would have loved to be inside to see the treasure. I had been assured that I would get to see what we stole as soon as we got back to camp. All Ritsu and the others were doing was stashing as much as they could into their bags. I volunteered to carry some, but my teacher would have none of it. He said that in case we needed to get out in a hurry, he didn't want me weighed down. I couldn't argue with him and win. And honestly, I was glad he let me come on this heist. He had been watching this lord guy for several weeks before he caught a break and made the decision to rob him. He was supposedly the most powerful man in this part of the region. Bringing me here was a big risk, not just for the job and me, but for the rest of the gang as well.

I heard footsteps a few halls away and tapped on the door. I followed the sound with my ears. The steps seemed heavy and slow; someone was patrolling the halls. I focused on the sound and decided that the noise was getting closer and tapped again, a little louder. I could hear my group finishing up in the room behind me. Ritsu opened the door I was leaning against, causing me to stumble backwards a little bit. He placed a hand on my back to steady me. I looked up at him. "We're done.", he said. I turned around to look at the room. I could tell where the three thieves had taken gold coins and jewels. On the wall next to the open safe was a shadow; it looked like a fox, curled up to look like a water droplet. On the floor was a lantern. Propped up against it was the piece of glass from the window. I looked up at Ritsu. "I have to leave my mark. It's part of the business.", he said. I smiled and looked back at the etching on the glass. "Ritsu, we should go.", Rei said quietly, hoisting the bag onto his back. A hand touched my shoulder and I turned around. "Let's go, Soko.", Ritsu said. I nodded and followed the others out of the room.

"I heard the patrolman down that hall.", I said as we came up to the corner. We stopped as Rei looked around the corner. After a moment he told us to cross the corridor. I crossed with Ritsu between the guard and me. Rei soon followed us. Ritsu ran quietly ahead of us with me at his side as we made our way around more guards and back to the window. He looked around one of the statues in the hallway to look out the window and get Shryli's attention. As soon as she spotted us, she opened the window and lowered the rope. The four of us quickly snuck over to the rope. I was sent up first. I climbed as fast as I could. I was nearly to the window when I heard a shout behind me. I turned to see two guards running toward us. "Soko go!", Ritsu said, still standing on the ground. Rei and Tamo were already making their way up the rope beneath me. I looked forward and scampered up the rope. Shryli pulled me up. I stood on the ledge, listening to the sounds coming up from the hallway. Slowly the other two emerged from the window. "Ritsu, come on!", I called, worry etched in my features. I heard a grunt, followed by a thud. Another soon followed. Another moment later, Ritsu came from the window. He let it swing shut behind him. "We should leave before the come after us.", he said, panting a little.

We had no troubles leaving the grounds. As far as I know, no one followed us. Ritsu still insisted that we keep a fast pace until we were at least five miles from the palace. We stopped to catch our breath. I collapsed onto the forest floor, breathing heavily. The others sat near me, panting. Ritsu started laughing. I couldn't help but join him. The others began laughing too. I only stopped when I couldn't breathe anymore. The sapphire fox sat down next to me with a sigh. He gazed at me, mirth in his eyes. "So, Soko. What do you think?", he asked me. I smirked. "I think you should let me see what we got." He laughed again. "Very well. You've earned a peek.", he replied, opening the bag he carried. I gazed inside at its contents. My eyes widened as a smile crept onto my face. "It's a wonderful feeling, isn't it?" I tore my eyes away from the gold and jewels to look into the eyes of my tutor. "The best feeling in the world.", I said. Ritsu smirked. "Yeah it is. And you didn't even do the thieving this time. Just wait until you get to the good stuff.", he said, closing the bag and resetting it on his back. "When will that be?", I asked, standing up. "When you're ready to do it without my help.", Ritsu said, baring a fang as he grinned. I pouted. As we made our way back to camp, he placed a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry. You're learning really fast. You'll be pulling off your own heists in no time at all!" I sighed. I knew he was right. I didn't need to dive in headfirst if I wasn't prepared. "Once I'm ready, will I have to plan the whole thing myself?", I asked. Ritsu nodded. "Yeah. But I'll look over it to make sure that it's good. I won't completely throw you out on your own." I smiled. "We can even practice planning things, if you want." I looked up at him. "That would be great!", I said. "I'll set up something for you as soon as we get home. You can start first thing tomorrow morning.", he told me. I was beaming. He smiled back at me as the camp came into view a few hundred yards ahead.

~*~

I practiced planning heists the next day. I was instructed to observe the target and take notes. I gathered information and got all of the 'tools' I would need for the job. I did this between jobs; Ritsu still wanted me to accompany him to get a feel for the field. I watched him work and filed everything away in my mind to use later when I was out on my own. I soon learned of his ability to control water, as he used it during many of his heists. I asked him about this power of his, how he got it and if I could learn to do it, as well. The man laughed and placed a hand on my head. He told me that you had to be born with a skill like that, or have extremely flexible energy. I had asked him what he meant. Ritsu explained that every living thing had energy flowing inside it. This energy could be controlled and used to manipulate things, like elements, other living things, or other energy. He also said that not everyone could control his or her energy. My ears drooped at that. Ritsu smiled and said that he knew I would be able to find my talent soon enough. I was already using my energy to heal my injuries quickly. All I had to do was find my 'element'.

It turns out I found it on the very next heist. It was deep in the forest. A caravan was transporting valuables to Rao, a city deep in Dragon territory. We were going to take the last wagon and leave it at that, but it was filled with soldiers instead of jewels. Our little band of thieves was fighting off the troops in order to escape, but more just kept coming.

~*~

Ritsu was fighting with only a canteen of water. Other members of our group had drawn their swords and other weapons. I was forced to engage myself in hand-to-hand combat. The only weapon I ever carried with me was a small dagger hidden inside my right boot, and that was only for Ritsu's peace of mind. Other than that, I was unarmed. I delivered a roundhouse kick to the side of a soldier's head and landed in a crouched position. Three more soldiers were coming towards me, each wielding a katana. I snarled and pounced at the closest one, tackling him to the ground. I managed to free him of his sword, but his buddies came to the rescue. A blade came across my line of vision, giving me a mere second to roll and avoid most of the attack. A hand rose to my cheek and came away covered with my own blood. I looked up from my seat just as a heavy boot connected with my head. I skidded a few feet to land in a thorn bush. I heard Ritsu's voice call my name, but I couldn't answer. My head was pounding and my vision was distorted. I tried to push myself up, but the thorns cut into my arms and legs. I blinked repeatedly, trying to clear my sight to no avail. The soldiers were advancing on my position. In my head, I was panicking. 'Am I going to die?', I thought, pulling frantically on my arms. 'If I can only reach the dagger…' A soldier raised his sword above his head, preparing to deliver the final blow and end my short life. I closed my eyes and screamed, anticipating a sword through my chest.

The pain never came. I cracked open a single golden eye. The soldier's face was contorted in pain. On further inspection, I found that the bush I was laying in was now tightly wrapped around the soldier before me. I gasped, remembering my mother, and crawled backwards, out of the bush and away from the soldier. His comrades were just as shocked as I was. They got over it quickly and came after me. I stood up. I closed my eyes for a moment to try to remember the way my mother had moved the day the soldiers came to my house. I opened my eyes again and performed the moves as best as I could. 'Please, I need your help!', I thought, calling out to the nearby vegetation. Some of the smaller plants responded to my plea and wrapped themselves around the troops. Soon, neither of the soldiers could move even a finger. I stopped moving and stepped back, amazed. I had done all of that on my own. Suddenly I felt faint. I collapsed to my knees, exhausted. I fell sideways, right into Ritsu's arm. I remember him looking to his right at the soldiers before I passed out.

~*~

I woke up in my tent at camp, my head still throbbing. I looked around. Ritsu wasn't there. There was a lantern lit and sitting on the floor by my bed. No light came in from outside the tent, signaling the coming of night. I slowly sat up, my wounds wrapped in clean bandages. Growling emitted from my stomach. My limbs barely had enough strength to push me up and take me outside. The camp was very still tonight. People were sitting around campfires nursing their wounds or eating soup. I looked around for my teacher and couldn't find him. I was worried. I slowly made my way over to Kota's tent. There were people arguing inside; one was Kota, the other was Ritsu. I stood outside and listened. Kota wasn't happy about our failure today. Ritsu was trying to explain, but our leader would have no excuses. I heard Kota shout before the sound of skin violently contacting with skin reached my ears. There was a moment of silence before Ritsu exited the tent, his cheek bright red. I followed him as best I could; he was walking too fast for my injured body to keep up with.

"Ritsu!", I called, hoping to slow him down. He just ignored me. "Ritsu!!!", I shouted again. He didn't stop. I frowned and made the grass wrap itself around one of his ankles to stop him. He looked down and then turned to me, anger burning in his eyes. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!", he shouted. In my surprise I quickly returned the plant to its original state. Ritsu came over to me. "You know you're too weak to waste your energy like that! I thought I taught you better!", he screamed, inches from my face. My ears drooped to a submissive position. "I just wanted to make sure you were ok…", I muttered, tears forming in my amber eyes. The fox's expression softened a little as he let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry. We lost more people than I had originally thought and Kota's pissed because we were counting on that job to feed us for the next few months.", he said, running a hand through his blue hair. He looked back at me. He reached out and pulled me into his embrace. "I didn't mean to yell at you, Soko. I'm not mad at you, only worried about you.", he said. I wrapped my arms around his waist as a few tears escaped my closed eyes. He stroked my silver head protectively. "I was scared.", he whispered. I looked up at him. My teacher, my fearless 'big brother', was scared? He gave me a subtle smile. "You mean the world to me, Soko. When I saw those soldiers attack you, I though I was going to lose you." He wiped my tears away. "But then you made the plants dance, and I knew you had a chance.", he said, his smile growing. I giggled. "That rhymes, Ritsu.", I said. He chuckled. "Yeah, it does."

We retired to the tent to eat dinner. As Ritsu sat down with his bowl of soup, I thought about my newfound ability. "My mom could control plants, too.", I said quietly. My companion looked up at me from his bowl. "That would explain where you got it from.", he said. "I tried to copy her today. I only saw her use it once, when she was fighting the soldiers that burned our house… She looked so graceful when she did it, not at all like what I felt like…", I rambled. Ritsu swallowed the food in his mouth before speaking. "You just found out that you have the ability to control plants. You can't expect to become a master at it overnight. With practice, you will be able to do all kinds of techniques." I tilted my head a little as I gazed at him. "You can teach me?", I asked. He shook his head. "Unfortunately, controlling plants isn't the same as controlling water. Plants have their own living energy that you must work with, whereas water only has the energy of movement. You'll have to teach yourself.", he stated. I sighed. "Why do I feel so tired?", I asked. "You exerted too much energy trying to manipulate the plants. I suppose part of that is due to your fear, but most of it was because you don't know how to use your energy effectively.", Ritsu declared. "From what I understand, you can use the energy from the plants to make them move and just use your own energy to make them do what you want." I nodded and sipped my soup. "You should probably start learning what you can as soon as possible, but only after you heal." Ritsu was smiling. I emptied my bowl and put it down between us. A yawn escaped my throat. Ritsu set his bowl aside and lay me down. He pulled the blanket up to my chin. "Get some sleep, watashi no takara.", he said, kissing my forehead. I smiled and quickly fell asleep.

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~*~Soko~*~