"Uwah!" The orange-haired boy yelped as he was spotted. Grabbing a few tangerines, he turned on his heel and bolted.

  "Stop right there, you little brat! Steal from me, will you? I'm gonna string you up and beat the snot outta you!" The fruit vendor's eyes bulged with fury as he charged after the boy.

  Standing off to the side, Hayami Reina watched and shook her head. Poor guy.

  Guess he won’t be trusting any little girl’s innocent smile ever again, huh? she thought, watching as a red-haired boy and a blue-violet-haired girl darted in from the other side to snatch up the stolen fruit.

  A three-person team. The blue-violet-haired girl lured the target in with a smile and got them to bag up the goods themselves, lowering their guard. The orange-haired boy then created a distraction, pulling the vendor away so the red-haired boy and a gray-blue-haired girl could swoop in and lift the neatly packaged loot.

  Judging by how smoothly they worked together, this definitely wasn’t their first time.

  Should I join them? Working as a group to get food had a much higher success rate than relying on just my knife. Sure, I could take down an adult in a surprise attack—but this body is still a child’s, after all.

  And I’m about their age. My clothes and vibe aren’t that different either. It’d be easier to earn their trust and become one of them.

  With that thought, Reina made up her mind. She memorized the direction the red-haired boy and the blue-violet-haired girl had fled and prepared to circle around and intercept them.

  Just then, the fruit vendor came stomping back, realizing he’d been duped. He howled with frustration, drawing a crowd of curious onlookers.

  Tch. People who don’t think things through...

  Reina was just about to leave when a rge hand suddenly grabbed the back of her colr.

  "Sir, do you need something? I’m rather busy." Reina frowned slightly, annoyed. She didn’t like being grabbed.

  "Busy? What, busy splitting the loot with them? You’re one of them, aren’t you?!" The vendor’s eyes were round with rage, gring at her like she was the devil incarnate.

  "...I think you’ve misunderstood something. I don’t know them. This is actually my first day here."

  "And besides—if I was with them, why would I still be here? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to grab some extra fruit while you were gone and run with them?"

  Her tone was calm, steady. Not a hint of panic.

  "...Y-yeah, that makes sense. Sorry, kiddo. My bad for holding you up." The vendor sheepishly let go.

  "Don’t let her fool you!" a deep voice cut in. "Use your head. She was gonna wait until you chased after those kids and then rob your stall herself. That little gang’s been causing trouble all over the area tely—lots of folks have fallen for their tricks."

  The man who spoke was a burly giant with wiry, steel-wool hair and a deep scar on his temple. Despite the mild weather, he wore only a sleeveless vest, wide open at the front to show off his bulging chest and abs.

  "B-Boss, you’re here?"

  This "Boss" was the de facto ruler of the market. Every vendor had to offer him a tribute of money or goods at regur intervals in exchange for the privilege of keeping their stalls—and, in turn, he provided protection.

  Reina felt a shift in the air. This wasn’t going to end peacefully. She slowly reached into her clothes, fingers brushing the hilt of her hunting knife.

  "You think I’m blind? You’re the same age as those kids, dressed the same, loitering nearby while they made their move—and you expect me to believe you’re not with them? And since when can a lone street rat survive out here?"

  The boss sneered, the kind of look that said, You might fool a fool, but I’m no fool.

  At that very moment, the orange-haired boy—who had circled back to try and swipe some money from the stall during the commotion—paused, completely bewildered. Wait, what? She's not with us. Now you're just dragging in innocent people...?!

  "Cut off one of her fingers," the boss said coldly, chin tilted upward. "Let that be her warning."

  Well damn. What, you want Reina to go full berserker in a white cloak now?

  As the boss gestured, one of his goons stepped forward and reached for Reina.

  Reina measured the distance. She had only one shot. Let him get close enough, then sm her elbow straight into his crotch, slice his throat as he doubled over, and vanish into the crowd before anyone could stop her.

  The goon grabbed Reina’s left wrist, trying to yank her in.

  "Sorry, kid. We gotta eat too."

  "Apologies. So do I." Reina twisted hard, ducking sideways. Her right arm snapped up, elbow aimed straight for the man’s groin.

  The goon’s eyes went wide. He dropped into a defensive stance, legs bent low, palm raised to block—he clearly had combat training. But Reina didn’t hesitate. With a fluid motion, her right hand slid into her jacket, pulling out the hunting knife and reversing it in a fsh, stabbing toward his chest.

  "Tch. Troublesome little brat." The goon let go of her wrist and backed off, dodging the killing blow.

  But then he was back on her, feet sliding over the ground in sharp teral bursts. Reina couldn't evade fast enough—he caught both her hands and pinned them.

  Just as things turned grim, an orange blur crashed into the goon’s left fnk. The boy threw his full weight behind a brutal elbow strike to the man's left kidney.

  "GUAAAHH!" The goon cried out in agony, releasing Reina’s hands.

  "Run! Get outta here!" the boy shouted.

  Without hesitation, Reina snatched the paper umbrel from the ground and ducked into the crowd, vanishing in an instant.

  "You little—!" The goon staggered, clutching his side, and limped toward the boy. With his good hand, he grabbed the kid by the colr and hoisted him up.

  The boy filed in panic—then bit down hard on the goon’s wrist.

  With a cry of pain, the man smmed the kid to the ground. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he lunged with a heavy punch.

  The boy scrambled under his legs in a clumsy crawl, slipping just beneath the incoming fist. At the same time, he hooked his leg around the goon's ankle.

  Already weakened from the kidney shot and now tripped up, the goon couldn’t catch himself. He facepnted hard into the dirt.

  The orange-haired boy bolted into the crowd.

  "Hahahahahaha!" The boss ughed heartily from the sidelines, cpping his hands. Now that was interesting. That gray-eyed girl’s decisive strike. This slippery, clever little eel of a boy... Both of them had promise.

  One of the boss’s men stepped forward, ready to pursue.

  The boss held up a hand to stop him.

  "Boss, why’re we—?"

  The boss didn’t answer. He walked over and hauled his injured man off the ground, brushing dirt from his clothes.

  "Let it go for today. They’ve disappeared into the crowd—you’ll never catch them now. But there aren’t many pces left to steal food in this area. They’ll be back."

  He then turned to the fruit vendor.

  "You don’t have to pay up this month."

  The vendor’s eyes lit up. "Thank you, Boss! You’ve got a heart of gold!" The sting of his earlier loss melted away.

  …

  Elsewhere, the orange-haired boy was stopped short by a familiar figure.

  "You," he said, squinting at the girl.

  "Hayami Reina," she replied, her face unreadable.

  The boy blinked in surprise—then broke into a wide, sunny grin.

  "Yahiko. My name’s Yahiko."