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     I abruptly skidded to the left, and continued to sprint down the narrow ally. Then I rolled into a pile of trash and prostrated myself, sweat dripping down my face. I heard several people's footsteps approach. Holding my breath, I squinted through a small hole in the pile and saw three burly, florid faced men standing near the entrance to the defile. They split up, and as two of the men ran up the street, one started heading down the ally. I watched silently as the wax shined boots grew closer and closer. When they came close enough for me to smell the man's overdoses of cologne, I paused and thought. Despite the man's size, his clumsy steps showed that he depended on brawn, not skill, during fights. On the contrary, I was lean yet skillful. Taking him on would probably be easy for me. But he could raise an alarm and call the other two over, and I wasn't sure if I could fight them three to one. But I would have to face them all, at one point or another. What better time to go on offense than while they were split up?
     As I saw the man slip past the corner, I silently slid out of the trash and inched toward the corner. Preparing to attack, I turned—and was met with an iron headlock.
     "You thought I wouldn't notice you? Fool."
     I didn't need to see his face to know that he was smirking. I tried to break free of his hold, but the man was stronger than I had expected. And seeing how he had waited behind the corner for me, knowing that I would attack, he had more brains than I'd thought as well. I cursed my poor judgment, and shoved my elbow backwards, into his ribcage. I heard him oomph, but his hold did not slacken. Growing desperate, I kicked backwards under his knees—only to be met with iron plates. I cried out from the impact.
     Noticing my lame attempt, the man commented, "Underestimating us has cost many men their lives. How do you turds think we've survived this long if we were half the dimwits that you thought we were?"
     I struggled to come up with a retort—mostly because I was beginning to choke. I started seeing black dots, and had multiple paroxysms due to desperation. The hold did not loosen, and I eventually succumbed and went unconscious.

     Rin watched the teenage boy struggle, and lapse into unconsciousness. Feeling no sympathy, she thought, 'What a dumb kid.' The Snipes were known by the general population for being unintelligent and clumsy. But Rin knew, after years of watching their criminal activities, that it was just their cover. Their organization made mistakes in public on purpose, walked in a clumsy fashion, and got drunk in public pubs often. Actually, they didn't get drunk. They just pretended to, and walked out of pubs singing foolish songs and walking dazedly. Rin knew that after getting out of the public's eye, the men dropped their act and walked steadily into their hideouts, wearing smug expressions. The only people that knew about their true identities were dead. Other than Rin, of course.
     Rin was known and respected by all the crime organizations and mafias in the world. She knew that despite her casual discreetness, the Snipes had noticed her presence during their activities at some point or another. But they didn't dare approach her due to her reputation. In the exclusive yet widespread organization of Ring users, she had fought her way to becoming the second most powerful user. The first was a man that had an unknown background. Some said that he was a hermit—others said he lived in disguise. Rin hadn't dared to challenge him. The man had an undefeatable record of zero losses.
     As these light thoughts passed Rin's mind, she observed the unconscious boy. Not that she was interested, of course—he had to be at least twenty years younger than her. Not including the couple years she had added on to her lifespan with her Rings. The boy had sun bleached hair. She could tell that it had been brown before by looking at the hair near his roots, but now the majority of his hair was pale yellow. His eyes, which she'd seen during his struggle, were strikingly similar to her own--pale grey irises, outlined with an intense black. His lashes seemed thicker than hers—why was it that men often had lashes that most women could only dream of having?
     Before Rin could get to the rest of his countenance, the Snipes blindfolded and gagged him. She watched as he was roughly tossed into their car trunk. Then out of the blue, her rarely used phone started ringing. Rin irately glanced at the caller ID, knowing her cover was blown. But the name that appeared on her screen caused her to forget her mild anger. She flipped the phone open, and started off the conversation.
     "If you've called me to tell me your cats finally had babies, I'm hanging up right now."
     "Hello to you too, sunshine. No need to fret, I'm in need of a favor."
     Hm. It was rare for him to ask for a favor. The last time he'd asked for one, it was when he had been locked up in the deepest chamber of Alcatraz. She shivered at the memory of the day they had both almost met their deaths. "What kind of favor?"
     "Nothing big. See that boy in front of you? Or did they already drive off."
     "No, they're still here. It seems they're phoning their boss."
     "Oh, even better. Can you save the kid for me?" At Rin's pause, he continued. "Please, don't ask. It's kind of urgent. I'll explain later, promise."
     "It's not like I was going to." They both knew that was a lie. But he didn't interrupt, so she added, "But you do realize that this means becoming enemies with the Snipes, right?"
     "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
     "You better." Then Rin hung up. The two had a mutually put a taboo on saying farewell. Until then, the Snipes had ignored her presence. But as Rin approached them, they looked up warily. One overconfident, extra burly looking man walked up to her.
     "Hey princess, don't interfere. This one's an order from the boss."
     "Call me princess one more time and I'll cut your tongue out." She didn't appreciate the obviously lower class man calling her a pet name.
     "What, does my calling you princess bother you... princess?" He smirked sardonically.
     "It does, actually." She silently and instantly called out one of her Rings. Before any of the men could blink, the one that had irritated her was flung into the air. He choked and clawed at his throat. The other men took a glance at their partner, took the boy out of the trunk, and fled. Rin dropped the man and said, "You're lucky. I'm not in the mood to do frivolous things." She then flung the unconscious boy on her shoulder and sashayed away.

     "Hnng.." I took a swipe at my bleary eyes.
     "Stop moving, you twit. You're heavy enough as it is."
     "What the.. oomph." The auburn haired woman's shoulder dug into my stomach as she stepped over a stairway. "Who are you? Why are you carrying me? What happened to the-" I suddenly couldn't open my lips. It felt as if my mouth had been duck taped shut, except there was nothing on my mouth. Panicking, I tried to pry my lips apart. Just as sudden as it had happened, I could speak again. But this time, I saw the lady's hand twitch. Then I noticed that her fingers were covered in rings. Some were incredibly garish—so much that I had to wince.
     "Shut up, or I'll do it again." The woman then walked to the side of a massive door, and knocked three times rapidly, then twice slowly. Without a sound, the polished door swung open. A man was sitting several feet away on a red velvet couch.
     "That was quick. Then again, when are you not?"
     "Time for your explanation. I don't understand why you'd want this immature fool."
     "It's a long story. Are you still interested?"
     "Tell me the short version."
     "The short version. Hm. That's still going to be a long story. You'd better have a seat." The man patted the cushion of the seat next to him.
     "Well then make it even shorter, Luke. You of all people should know I'm impatient."
     "Unfortunately, that I know. But at the very shortest, my story's going to take a while to tell. Just sit, will you." The man I assumed was called Luke patted the seat again, but this time with impatience.
     "Fine. Where do I put this." She then flopped me off her back, and nudged me forward.
     "His name's Nick, Rin."
     "And I care because..?" Rin finally took a seat next to Luke.
     Luke paused, looked me over, and said, "You can sit too, you know." He gestured to the sofa across from them. I quickly took a seat, as my body felt bruised all over. I winced as my bottom made contact with the cushion. Man, I'd need to get some serious treatment after this.

Description
     I abruptly skidded to the left, and continued to sprint down the narrow ally. Then I rolled into a pile of trash and prostrated myself, sweat dripping down my face. I heard several people's footsteps approach. Holding my breath, I squinted through a small hole in the pile and saw three burly, florid faced men standing near the entrance to the defile. They split up, and as two of the men ran up the street, one started heading down the ally. I watched silently as the wax shined boots grew closer and closer. When they came close enough for me to smell the man's overdoses of cologne, I paused and thought. Despite the man's size, his clumsy steps showed that he depended on brawn, not skill, during fights. On the contrary, I was lean yet skillful. Taking him on would probably be easy for me. But he could raise an alarm and call the other two over, and I wasn't sure if I could fight them three to one. But I would have to face them all, at one point or another. What better time to go on offense than while they were split up?
     As I saw the man slip past the corner, I silently slid out of the trash and inched toward the corner. Preparing to attack, I turned—and was met with an iron headlock.
     "You thought I wouldn't notice you? Fool."
     I didn't need to see his face to know that he was smirking. I tried to break free of his hold, but the man was stronger than I had expected. And seeing how he had waited behind the corner for me, knowing that I would attack, he had more brains than I'd thought as well. I cursed my poor judgment, and shoved my elbow backwards, into his ribcage. I heard him oomph, but his hold did not slacken. Growing desperate, I kicked backwards under his knees—only to be met with iron plates. I cried out from the impact.
     Noticing my lame attempt, the man commented, "Underestimating us has cost many men their lives. How do you turds think we've survived this long if we were half the dimwits that you thought we were?"
     I struggled to come up with a retort—mostly because I was beginning to choke. I started seeing black dots, and had multiple paroxysms due to desperation. The hold did not loosen, and I eventually succumbed and went unconscious.

     Rin watched the teenage boy struggle, and lapse into unconsciousness. Feeling no sympathy, she thought, 'What a dumb kid.' The Snipes were known by the general population for being unintelligent and clumsy. But Rin knew, after years of watching their criminal activities, that it was just their cover. Their organization made mistakes in public on purpose, walked in a clumsy fashion, and got drunk in public pubs often. Actually, they didn't get drunk. They just pretended to, and walked out of pubs singing foolish songs and walking dazedly. Rin knew that after getting out of the public's eye, the men dropped their act and walked steadily into their hideouts, wearing smug expressions. The only people that knew about their true identities were dead. Other than Rin, of course.
     Rin was known and respected by all the crime organizations and mafias in the world. She knew that despite her casual discreetness, the Snipes had noticed her presence during their activities at some point or another. But they didn't dare approach her due to her reputation. In the exclusive yet widespread organization of Ring users, she had fought her way to becoming the second most powerful user. The first was a man that had an unknown background. Some said that he was a hermit—others said he lived in disguise. Rin hadn't dared to challenge him. The man had an undefeatable record of zero losses.
     As these light thoughts passed Rin's mind, she observed the unconscious boy. Not that she was interested, of course—he had to be at least twenty years younger than her. Not including the couple years she had added on to her lifespan with her Rings. The boy had sun bleached hair. She could tell that it had been brown before by looking at the hair near his roots, but now the majority of his hair was pale yellow. His eyes, which she'd seen during his struggle, were strikingly similar to her own--pale grey irises, outlined with an intense black. His lashes seemed thicker than hers—why was it that men often had lashes that most women could only dream of having?
     Before Rin could get to the rest of his countenance, the Snipes blindfolded and gagged him. She watched as he was roughly tossed into their car trunk. Then out of the blue, her rarely used phone started ringing. Rin irately glanced at the caller ID, knowing her cover was blown. But the name that appeared on her screen caused her to forget her mild anger. She flipped the phone open, and started off the conversation.
     "If you've called me to tell me your cats finally had babies, I'm hanging up right now."
     "Hello to you too, sunshine. No need to fret, I'm in need of a favor."
     Hm. It was rare for him to ask for a favor. The last time he'd asked for one, it was when he had been locked up in the deepest chamber of Alcatraz. She shivered at the memory of the day they had both almost met their deaths. "What kind of favor?"
     "Nothing big. See that boy in front of you? Or did they already drive off."
     "No, they're still here. It seems they're phoning their boss."
     "Oh, even better. Can you save the kid for me?" At Rin's pause, he continued. "Please, don't ask. It's kind of urgent. I'll explain later, promise."
     "It's not like I was going to." They both knew that was a lie. But he didn't interrupt, so she added, "But you do realize that this means becoming enemies with the Snipes, right?"
     "Don't worry, I'll take care of it."
     "You better." Then Rin hung up. The two had a mutually put a taboo on saying farewell. Until then, the Snipes had ignored her presence. But as Rin approached them, they looked up warily. One overconfident, extra burly looking man walked up to her.
     "Hey princess, don't interfere. This one's an order from the boss."
     "Call me princess one more time and I'll cut your tongue out." She didn't appreciate the obviously lower class man calling her a pet name.
     "What, does my calling you princess bother you... princess?" He smirked sardonically.
     "It does, actually." She silently and instantly called out one of her Rings. Before any of the men could blink, the one that had irritated her was flung into the air. He choked and clawed at his throat. The other men took a glance at their partner, took the boy out of the trunk, and fled. Rin dropped the man and said, "You're lucky. I'm not in the mood to do frivolous things." She then flung the unconscious boy on her shoulder and sashayed away.

     "Hnng.." I took a swipe at my bleary eyes.
     "Stop moving, you twit. You're heavy enough as it is."
     "What the.. oomph." The auburn haired woman's shoulder dug into my stomach as she stepped over a stairway. "Who are you? Why are you carrying me? What happened to the-" I suddenly couldn't open my lips. It felt as if my mouth had been duck taped shut, except there was nothing on my mouth. Panicking, I tried to pry my lips apart. Just as sudden as it had happened, I could speak again. But this time, I saw the lady's hand twitch. Then I noticed that her fingers were covered in rings. Some were incredibly garish—so much that I had to wince.
     "Shut up, or I'll do it again." The woman then walked to the side of a massive door, and knocked three times rapidly, then twice slowly. Without a sound, the polished door swung open. A man was sitting several feet away on a red velvet couch.
     "That was quick. Then again, when are you not?"
     "Time for your explanation. I don't understand why you'd want this immature fool."
     "It's a long story. Are you still interested?"
     "Tell me the short version."
     "The short version. Hm. That's still going to be a long story. You'd better have a seat." The man patted the cushion of the seat next to him.
     "Well then make it even shorter, Luke. You of all people should know I'm impatient."
     "Unfortunately, that I know. But at the very shortest, my story's going to take a while to tell. Just sit, will you." The man I assumed was called Luke patted the seat again, but this time with impatience.
     "Fine. Where do I put this." She then flopped me off her back, and nudged me forward.
     "His name's Nick, Rin."
     "And I care because..?" Rin finally took a seat next to Luke.
     Luke paused, looked me over, and said, "You can sit too, you know." He gestured to the sofa across from them. I quickly took a seat, as my body felt bruised all over. I winced as my bottom made contact with the cushion. Man, I'd need to get some serious treatment after this.