Chapter 2

Just Watching

...\~/...

Sakura's eyes opened, only to close them quickly when the sunbeams blinded her. She hated her room in the morning; in the evening she liked it because the moon was just in her view. She loved the moon, probably because she had always dreamed of standing under it, receiving her first kiss from the boy of her dreams. Sakura groaned as she swung her legs over the side, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Her pink hair stuck up in all directions and she pushed it behind her ears. The wood moaned beneath her feet when she stood. The floor moaning was the worst sound ever...made her feel fat...

"Sakura! Breakfast's ready!" her mother called from the kitchen.

"I'm coming!" Sakura walked over to her dresser, pulling out a black skirt and dark red, kimono-styled top. She pulled them on slowly, her muscles still stiff from the restless night's sleep. Her mind never stopped thinking about the day before, mainly the mission. What if she messed up and picked the wrong person? What if the Assassin killed another person and she failed. Maybe Lady Tsunade didn't care about that, but only cared if she caught the culprit. Then she'd be a hero.

"Sakura!"

"I'm coming, mother!"

"The food's getting cold!"

Sakura growled in frustration. She hated her mother's bossy attitude, the way she thought she knew everything, and most of all, her screaming. Every night, her parents would get into fights, screaming and sometimes throwing things around. But that was only around here; out in public...those two acted like they were perfect, like they didn't have a care in the world. Sakura moved her door open, walking her own steady pace into the kitchen. Her mother stood at the stove, piling eggs onto a plate.

"You're finally here." her mother said, setting a plate on the table in an angry manner. Sakura just stared at it, her lips forming a deep frown. Her mom looked at her second, then back at her pan, but she looked back to see the almost worried look on her daughter's face. Sakura watched as her mom shifted all her weight on one foot, placing her hand on her hip. "What is that look for?"

Sakura's green eyes caught her mom's darker ones. "I got a mission."

"But you get missions all the time." her mom replied, turning back to her pan to scrape the grease away. "What's so wrong about this one?" She looked over at her shoulder to see her daughter slowly sitting in her chair, grabbing her fork to beginning eating. Sakura noticed her mom's eyes narrow. "Well...?"

"I can't talk about it."

Sakura knew that annoyed look, the one that her mother gave her and her father all the time. Truth be told, she never really liked her mom. She remembered all the times that she would really need the woman and she wouldn't be there to comfort her, praise her, listen to things. Sakura's dad was always the one that was there and talking about boys, the latest fashions, and girly stuff was always awkward. Her dad always tried to understand and make things better. Her dad was truly a remarkable person.

"Where's dad?"

Her mom gave a 'hm', shaking her head. "He went to stay at the Jonin barracks for the night. That dumbass doesn't know when to shut his mouth." Her mom laughed, "Said he wasn't seeing that slut. What an ass." Sakura gritted her teeth, dropping her fork which clinked on the plate. She stood up so fast that her chair knocked to the floor. The pink-haired woman spun around. "Sakura, what are you doing? You could've broken my plate!"

She watched her daughter stand there, hands pressed against the wood with her eyes closed calmly. "I hate you..." she said in an icy tone.

The woman watched with an open mouth as her daughter turned and walked away. No tears filled her eyes, to busy trying to figure out what she did to deserve those three words.

...\~/...

Akira drummed her fingers against the desk, scanning over the information that Kakashi had given her the day before. Nothing seemed to add up; there were no connections between the victims whatsoever, except for the twins the Assassin had murdered, but that was only family. "Damn." she said under her breath, dropping the papers. She covered her face with her hands, shielding the light from her eyes. "Five years and nothing..."

"Well, that's not exactly true." Akira looked up to see Kakashi standing there with his foot propped on the wall and his arms crossed. "We now know that this Assassin has some good in their heart."

"Yeah? But that doesn't tell us anything, it's just a detail." Akira picked another paper up, looking over the crimes the assassinated person had done. "I'm just...frustrated..."

"I know," he replied. "But that's no excuse to not get any sleep. You need sleep, Akira, you've got bags under your eyes." Akira sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "I was up all night, trying to see a connection between these victims." She stood up, rubbing her eyes. "I've found nothing."

"Because there might not be one. Not all Assassins connect their victims together to solve one cause. They sometimes pick them at random." He watched as Akira staggered over to the couch, plopping down on it. Kakashi leaned on the back, staring at his student. When she had first turned a Jonin, he was ordered to train her the Jonin's duties and since then, they'd formed a close bond-almost father and daughter.

That's when he noticed the thin scratch on her cheek, slightly bruised on the border. "Where'd you get this?" he asked, running his finger along it. Akira didn't open her eyes, wince, anything, just laid there. "My cat thought it would be funny to play rough last night." She could feel his eyes on her, staring intently. His stare always made her think he was searching for something in her soul and such, but he always failed.

"Sleep well."

"Doubt it..."

...\~/...

Izumi Yamanaka hummed cheerfully to herself as she watered the potted plants outside the Yamanaka flower shop. It was a mindless tune, one that she had heard the small children sing out in the streets. She watched closely as the small water droplets slid down the smooth, green leaves and onto the rich soil. The blossom itself was beautiful, but Izumi's favorite part of the flowers were the leaves for some strange reason.

"Hey Izumi," Ino called out, standing in the doorway with a crate in her arms. "Can you help me carry these in from the back? They arrived just this morning." Izumi smiled, setting down her can. "Sure, I'll do what I can." The reason why she never was a kunoichi like the rest of the Yamanaka family was because she was weak and fragile, almost looking like one swift slap would break her. Even though she didn't contain good taigutsu like her family, she was killer with the Yamanaka clan specialty jutsu.

The two girls walked to the back, Ino grabbing an extra crate while Izumi got her own. The walked to the store part again, opening them up to discover the shipments. "These are going to be beautiful." Ino commented, setting the seeds with the proper category on the walls. Izumi nodded, looking over the spotless vases that seemed to be a now popular item among the store. They were all specially made in the Earth country; made from natural clay, paints, and other materials.

"Did you hear about the recent attack from the Assassin. Remarkable, isn't it?" she questioned. Ino raised an eyebrow at her cousin's seemingly proud tone when she said that. Was she proud or just happy that she got a new piece of gossip? "Well, it's amazing that the Assassin can murder without leaving any evidence, but it's tearing up the whole village. We're all scared that we might be the next target."

The grin on Izumi's face was a little creepy. "I think the Assassin is truly an amazing person. Wouldn't you like to meet them?"

Ino gave a weird look, "No...not really...I think I might stay away from them as much as possible."

Izumi continued to bear the odd look when the door opened, familiar chime of the bell ringing throughout the store. Ino look up to see Sakura walk in, a small frown on her face. She gave a sigh of relief for two reasons: 1) she was no longer alone with her cousin and 2) it wasn't the Assassin. Izumi gave a brief wave before heading back to the back lot. Ino scurried over to the pink-haired kunoichi, grabbing her hands.

"You have to get me out of here." she said. The conversation before left her a bit creeped out. Sakura gave Ino an odd look, "What? Why?" She watched as her friend looked over to the back room.

"Izumi, she just-"

"Hey Ino," Both girls looked outside to see Choji standing there. "Want to get some breakfast?" he asked. "It's on me." he added. Ino nodded hurriedly, walking out at a fast pace, grabbing Choji's arm. A slight blush tinted his cheeks as they started to walk away, heading towards the newly-opened restaurant down the road. This left Sakura alone in the flower shop, surrounded by the sweet-smelling aromas, but also a dark atmosphere filled the room.

"Can I help you?"

Sakura looked up to see Izumi standing there, a smile on her face. Her smile was sweet enough to make Sakura become diabetic, but she didn't want to be rude so she smiled back. "How are you, Izumi?" she asked, hoping to find any signs of a traitor. She hoped that she'd be able to determine which one was the Assassin and get over it. Nothing seemed to be wrong... "I'm doing just fine. Thank you for asking."

Izumi looked like a Yamanaka female: long, blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, the same icy blue eyes, skinny figure, and small frame. Compared to Izumi, Ino looked like a horse, but that was already established long ago, but the two rivals/friends still gained some maturity and no longer exchanged names, though they still had their negative moments. Izumi also had that high-pitched voice that made Sakura's eardrums want to burst. If she was the Assassin, she didn't need a blade; all she needed was her voice.

Izumi yawned out of boredom. "Did you hear about the recent killing?" How'd she know that? Only the higher ranks knew about the recent assassination, but maybe Shikamaru told Ino the news and she spilled the beans. Sometimes, that girl needed to keep her mouth shut. "Isn't it amazing?" she asked. Amazing? That wasn't really the kind of word you used to describe a murder, unless you were psychotic, then that'd be understandable.

"Well, no, not really..." She had to wonder if Ino was going to tell her about the odd fascination her cousin held for the Assassin and murders. And her way of getting information was astounding. Lady Tsunade was right about adding her to the suspect list. Hopefully the others wouldn't be as odd.

"Not everyone holds respect for killers like the Assassin. They too have reasons, you know?"

Sakura nodded slowly, backing up to the door. "I'm sorry I couldn't stay long, but I have some other business to attend too." Sakura dashed out of there before Izumi could even say good-bye. Sakura trotted down the road quite a ways before stopping to take notes in a notepad she had bought from a store.

Strange admiration for Assassin. Could possibly be telling others about how great she is if she is the Assassin.

Sakura flipped the notepad shut, continuing her way to Daichi Hideki.

...\~/...

She found Daichi kneeling over a slab of black stone, pounding the daylights out of a overheated, soon-to-be sword. Sweat slipped down in beads on his forehead and his red hair stuck to his skin. Sakura found him rather good-looking; it was a shame that he was probably the Assassin. She walked in, preparing to be as quiet as she could be when she hit her leg on a sharp tool.

"Damn it!" she cried out, falling to the ground. The older boy dropped his hammer, spinning around with an unsheathed sword in his hand. When he saw Sakura kneeling there, hand pressed against her leg with blood covering her hand, he slowly sheathed his sword and walked over to her. Grabbing a roll of bandages, he got on his knees and moved her hand gently. Sakura looked up at him, a slight blush appearing on her face.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that. Karma will fall upon you." His voice made her shiver and he gave a strange look. "It's a little cold in here." she lied, giving him a sheepish grin. He smiled, wrapping the bandages around her leg. As he was concentrating on that, Sakura concentrated on him. 'He's so hot...' Sakura watched as his hair fell in front of his eyes, but he didn't push it away like most people would. And his eyes...they were a deep, reassuring brown that made her smile. He was muscular, tall, and seemed too gentle to be an Assassin, but of course, Assassins could act like anything in order to "disappear" from people's eyes.

"Well I..." She couldn't think of anything to say which made him chuckle. "Are you new in the village?" Stupid question, but it was all she could say.

"Yes, I am. I came from Suna, but they didn't really appreciate my skills so I came here to start fresh."

"What kind of skills?" She gave another sheepish look when he smirked, looking up at her from his work. "You're a little bit nosy, aren't you?" Sakura remained silent until he was done. She lifted herself up onto a nearby chair and watched him return to his sword-making. Suna had always been focused more on their jutsu instead of weapons, so maybe they thought his excessive sword-making was strange.

"I apologize for my rudeness, but I don't know you that well. I don't even know your name."

Sakura perked up, "Oh, it's Sakura Haruno." She watched Daichi smile. "Pretty name." he muttered as he started to hammer the steel into place. "It was my mother's name..." Sakura watched his eyes soften when he said that and his hits became slower. She took note to this. Assassins all had reasons to commit an assassination, but if someone killed his mother and he murdered the killer, wouldn't it be considered revenge?

"My name is Daichi Hideki." That's the last thing he said. Sakura knew it was the end of their discussion and she didn't nag him. The last thing she wanted to happen was that he would grow suspicious and throw her out...or maybe he already was. She stood up, her knee stinging slightly. Daichi never bothered to say good-bye as she left, probably to busy concentrating on other things.

Sakura closed the door behind her, wiping away the sweat on her brow. She took her notepad out.

Possibly making a new sword because his old one for assassinations broke. Mother might have been murdered which could be the reason for anger and assassinations. Sakura paused for a moment before writing down: Too hot for his own good.

...\~/...

Tsunade ran her fingers along the corpse's cold body. His eyes were closed, lips set in a thin line. The guard had no chance to defend himself; the Assassin was too good. Tsunade's face was so close to the guards that she saw where the blade had entered him clearly. Three medical-nin stood in the background, studying her and her work. The blade had gone through the roof of his mouth and the top of his head. Dry blood caked his hair and flaked when she searched the wound. She popped the jaw open, examining the roof of his mouth.

"The blade was an inch thick and about a foot long." That's when she spotted it. "Get me some tweezers."

A medical-nin handed her a pair and watched as she carefully reached up and pinched a shimmering piece of silver. She held it up to line up with her view, frowning slightly. The metal was highly polished, taken good care of. It was a small piece, probably barely noticeable on the sword, but with the Assassin's keen eye, they'd most likely take it in for immediate repair. Tsunade continued to stare at it as she searched for an envelope. A medical-nin finally got a clue and grabbed one for her. Tsunade slipped the piece into the pouch and sealed it.

"We finally have something..."

...\~/...

Even though Ichiraku ramen was the best, it didn't look good to her. Seeing Naruto eat as much as she did, it got old after awhile and plus, she had no one to talk to; sitting by yourself was the most boring thing ever. Teuchi looked up from his cooking and shouted, "Welcome!" Sakura looked over her shoulder to see Shikamaru standing there, lifting the banner away from his face.

"Hey Sakura, mind if I eat with you?"

Sakura nodded, turning back to her ramen which she played with carelessly. Shikamaru ordered his ramen and looked over to his friend. "I heard about your mission." All she did was nod. "Who told you?" she asked. Teuchi set the bowl in front of Shikamaru and he took a bite before answering. "Lady Tsunade did." He dug his hand into his back pouch and set a small envelope beside her bowl.

"Be careful with that. It's evidence...a piece of metal from the Assassin's blade." Sakura tilted the envelope and a small piece of silver slipped out, making a light clink when it hit the counter. Teuchi watched in amazement as Sakura held the piece between her fingers, holding it up. "It looks nothing like the swords I saw in Daichi's workshop." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Who's Daichi?"

Sakura frowned, "A suspect that Lady Tsunade has asked me to watch." She smiled softly. "I don't think he's the Assassin."

Shikamaru stopped to stare at her, but he slowly started to suck up the noodles again, licking the broth from his lips. "But how can you know that? You just met him today. Assassins have a way of covering up their true identities. You can never tell." Sakura shook her head, "He mentioned his mother and when he did, he got sad all of a sudden...a true sadness." Even though he looked upset, Shikamaru could be right; those might've been details to make her pity him.

Shikamaru slipped the metal piece back into the envelope, slipping it back into his pocket.

"Well, hopefully he's not because the way you describe him, he sounds like a good guy, considering that you just met him." Sakura looked over at Shikamaru who was smiling. He jumped off his stool, setting some money on the counter. "Just be careful, okay?"

Sakura nodded, watching as Shikamaru left, waving.

...\~/...

The figure narrowed their eyes as they watched the boy leave the seemingly popular ramen bar. Their eyes followed the boy and they slowly started to walk on the rooftops, making sure to keep their distance. The boy's hands were shoved in his pockets, but their eyes were focused on the back pouch where the piece of blade was located. The figure dropped into an alleyway, landing gracefully on their feet.

The road was full of loud people, the perfect distraction. They stepped into the crowd and gently pushed through, moving through the busy road towards their target. Their blade was hidden under their sleeve, their lips forming a thin line. The boy was only a few yards away so they sped up, careful of the people. Almost there...

"Hey, watch out!"

The figure ducked into an alleyway, watching three kids gather up a ball that they had kicked into the streets. The figure narrowed their eyes, sinking back into the shadows.

In the evening...that's when they would strike.

...\~/...

Haruka Jun lived in a mansion close to the borders of the Konoha. Elegantly made, she had to wonder if the owner remembered who made it. Lady Tsunade had mentioned that Haruka didn't remember much of her past. What happened to make her forget? Did someone hit her in the head because they were a little bit stronger than her during an attempted assassination? Maybe someone invented a memory-loss jutsu, if so; she'd love to learn it.

Sakura pushed open the gates, but jumped back when a shrieking alarm went off. A kunai in hand, she scanned the area, searching for the enemy. A net was released from above and it enveloped her, knocking her to the ground. Sakura struggled with it, noticing the door crack open. "C-Can you help me?" she asked, her hand getting tangled. The person closed the door, running off. "Please," Sakura finally removed the net, running towards the door. "Come back!" She stopped at the door, sliding it open. Now was not the time for manners...

She stepped in, looking around the dark room. What would've been the living room, wasn't. The place was completely bare, no furniture whatsoever. Only a single picture sat on a shelf that was above a ripped out fireplace. Sakura paused for moment, listening for any signs of movement. Her eyes flicked over to the left when she heard a shuffle in the other room. She moved slowly over to the door, sliding it open slowly. Sakura jumped back when a knife came down towards her. A figure advanced towards her, fingers clenched around the handle. Sakura's hands were clenched into fists, knuckles turning white.

The figure stepped from the shadows and into a faint stream of light. The figure, now identified as a woman, had super short hair that was just long enough for her to spike it in the front. Her eyes were a deep hazel which were narrowed towards her unwanted visitor. The woman looked unhealthy-dangerously pale and skinny; her clothes hung off of her, looking like they would fall off at any moment. The women ran from the light, swinging her knife towards Sakura which she blocked with a quickly pulled out kunai. Sakura struggled under all the pressure that the woman put on her side. Finally, Sakura swung her fist around, hitting the woman upside the head. Sakura watched the women crumble to the floor.

"Why'd you attack me?" Sakura asked, backing away just in case the woman tried to pull a side-sweep kick on her.

The woman looked up at her, gritting her teeth. "Why do ya think? You entered my house uninvited!"

Sakura walked over to the blinds, pulling them up. Bright light flooded the room and the woman shielded her eyes quickly, blinking furiously. Sakura noticed how her hair was dyed a deep purple and her skin wasn't just pale, it was almost white. Sakura had to wonder when the last time the woman went outside was. She probably avoided the outdoors because of whatever gave her the scar that stretched over her lips.

"Please...close the blinds..." the woman pleaded, her hands over her eyes.

Sakura pulled the cord, the shades falling back down. The woman removed her hands from her eyes, laying them on the ground. She stared at the knife and Sakura kicked it away quickly. She moved towards the picture on the mantle, noting the dustless frame. It was of the woman and a small boy. She looked healthier in the picture, her arms wrapped around the small boy. "Is this your son?" Sakura asked as she pulled down the picture, flashing it towards the woman.

The woman shook when she looked up. "No...he's my little brother..."

"What's your name?" Even though Sakura already knew it, she couldn't let the woman know that. The woman leaned back, crossing her legs. "It's Haruka Jun and I must ask you to leave." The seriousness in Haruka's eyes made her leave and she slid the entrance door closed quietly. Sakura walked to the outside gate and brought out her notepad.

Sort of paranoid. It's complicated, but she could be an Assassin so she can get rid of all the people that might be out to get her. Also, what's up with her brother?

Sakura closed it, sliding it back into her back pouch. Sakura looked over her shoulder to see Haruka standing there, staring through a small crack in the door. To Haruka, Sakura was probably just another person that was out to get her...and she was in a way. The next time she came to investigate, she'd definitely bring someone along. Sakura started to walk away, in search of the last person that she needed to meet: Saburo Susumu.

...\~/...

"So, I was sent out to track down this guy and in reality, it was actually a girl and man, was she hot!"

Sakura stopped outside the barbecue bar that Team 10 often went to. Inside was Saburo Susumu, hooting and hollering with his other huge friends. She had run into Saburo once before, actually, he was her leader on one of the missions she had gone on a few weeks ago. The team consisted of her, Kiba, and Neji, with Saburo as the leader. A strange team, but they were out to find the guy that Saburo was now talking about. All four had been surprised that the masked "man" had been a woman and Saburo and the target ended up having fun in the tent while she, Kiba, and Neji slept on the cold, hard ground with rain pouring down on them. Sakura started to laugh quietly when she remembered how the mission ended: Kiba, being his normal, hot-headed self was tired of hearing the two in the tent having sex and flipped the tent over, with some help from Neji, and Kiba rode away on top of Akamaru with his teammates following him.

Sakura walked in, ducking away into a booth that was far from Saburo. He was with three other guys, all equivalent in size and all seeming to lack in the intelligence area. Saburo had always been a creep in Sakura's eyes, just the way he stared at her on the mission. Fortunately, Kiba and Neji were there to keep an eye on him and both were strong enough to beat the livin' shit out of him if he tried to pull anything.

"What'd you do after that?" one of his friends asked. Saburo laughed, skipping over the part where Kiba and Neji flipped over the tent. "Well, I was heading back to the village after a long night and I was attacked by several enemies, possibly around twenty of them. I beat every one of them single-handed." Sakura sat there, slowly losing her temper. So not true; she, Kiba, and Neji went back and found him on the ground, being beaten by rogue ninjas wanting his money...and there were only two of them...pitiful. With one punch, Sakura had sent both ninja flying, and all three of them reluctantly took Saburo back to the village.

Sakura looked up when the owner of the store shouted out "Hello!" Saburo looked up also and whistled, "Hey there cutie, come sit with me, why don't cha." It was Akira, and she looked worried. She ignored Saburo's awful pick-up lines and scanned the restaurant, looking like she was searching for someone. "Hey Akira, over here." Sakura watched as Akira's icy blue eyes looked over at her and Akira walked over.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked.

Akira's eyes stared at the window and she had this spaced-out look to her. "Is it true that they found a bit of the Assassin's sword?" Sakura nodded. "Yeah; Shikamaru showed it to me earlier today. I think he's the one who's guarding it."

"Do you know where he is?" she questioned, looking over her shoulder at Saburo. He was whistling at a group of girls that had just come in. He was almost as bad as Jiraya... "Well, if he's not on a mission, he's probably sleeping under the clouds or something..." At least, that's where she always found him. "Why?" she asked when Akira turned to leave.

The Jonin looked over her shoulder at Sakura, "I need to see that shard. It's the only evidence we've ever found."

Sakura nodded, smiling. "Good luck on getting him up."

Akira nodded in return and walked away, ignoring Saburo's whistles. Sakura watched Akira through the window, smiling about how determined Akira was to find the Assassin and cure the village from a threat like the murderer. Hopefully the shard will bring clues to the crimes and help Akira solve it finally. Sakura stood up when she figured out that Saburo wasn't going to do anything. It was getting dark outside; evening was closing in on Konoha.

The streets were thinning down on people, all returning to their homes for the night. She, too, was heading home...hopefully her mom was wasted on the couch...

...\~/...

Night had fallen upon Konoha now, and Shikamaru was on his way home. People littered the roads in groups, totally wasted and talking loudly. Men hit on women, who either slapped them due to their lack of privacy or started a ferocious make-out session. Shikamaru frowned, wishing that his house was closer and it didn't take so much of his time getting there. Plus his mom would nag his ear off because he was stayed one minute late past his curfew.

Shikamaru turned into an alley when he saw some rowdy-looking men up ahead and really didn't want to deal with them. "That would be such a drag..." he muttered to himself, rubbing his neck as he yawned.

"Please, help me!" a woman screamed. His ears twitched when the scream was further down the alley. "Please, someone...!"

"Akira?" Shikamaru called out, starting out a jog towards the source of the scream. "Akira, where are you?" He reached the middle of the alleyway, scanning the area. He swore this was where she had been. "Shikamaru, up here!" He looked up to see Akira dangling from the building overhead. She was being held by the Assassin who made no move to let her down peacefully.

"Let her go!" Shikamaru yelled. Akira yelped when the Assassin let their arm fall, scaring her. Shikamaru grabbed several kunai and threw them at the Assassin. While the white-cloaked figure blocked those with their short blade, Shikamaru jumped up, holding a kunai. He swung his kunai out at the Assassin, but they blocked it easily. They threw Akira to the side toward the end of the building. She smashed her head against the wood, falling unconscious.

Shikamaru glanced over at Akira, a worried look in his eyes. He looked back at the Assassin when they started to speak. "You must never turn your back on your opponents." Shikamaru gritted his teeth. He would be able to tell the Hokage the gender if the figure's voice wasn't so low.

The Assassin stepped into the light, their blade glistening. Did the Assassin know that he was from the Nara clan and purposely stepped into the shadows or was it a clueless mistake? Either way, he couldn't let the Assassin go. Shikamaru put his fingers in the Rat sign, frowning in concentration. "Shadow Possession Jutsu!" His shadow extended through the darkness and attached itself to the Assassin.

"You're mine..." Shikamaru muttered. Hopefully a fellow ninja would come along and help him out, but something was off. Normally the opponent would be shocked that they were caught, but the Assassin stood there calmly, making no movements.

A knife handle smashed into the back of his head. Darkness enveloped his sight and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

The Assassin kneeled next to the boy, digging their hand into his back pouch. They retrieved the small envelope and slid it into their sleeve. The Assassin under the light disappeared in a cloud of smoke and the girl on their right continued to lay there. The Assassin stood up and walked away, sheathing their short blade.