Leon Krank

Mayu pulled her black hoodie over her face more making sure to cover her features and hoping that she blended in as a sketchy looking person. She was in the criminal part of town and it was no accident tht she was there. She did it on purpose. She wanted to be here. On her days off from running her shop as a normal giirl trying to live in a corrupt city, Mayu liked to do a little people watching on the bad side of town. The criminals here were something of a strange fascination to her, despite the fact that they were down right dangerous. It was almost amazing how they could just swipe money from others discreetly and their victim not know a thing. It was something Mayu wanted to do.

So on days when she had free time she would go downtown dressed in all black, trying to look as normal as possible and would study the criminals, trying to pick up anything and everything that they did. A few times she would almost get caught but she thought she was pretty good at blending in and usually didn't draw any attention to herself.  Today she hoped her luck held up.

Leaning against a wall at a small intersection, Mayu looked around as she shuffled her deck of cards, waiting to see a criminal in action. 

Ah, Reighs City, or should he say Panic City? Wasn't exactly a delightful looking town, the boys back at home definitely would have loved this. Leon stretched his arms in front of him, hearing the joints within make their usual popping sound before he moved his neck in a circle, the crackling of the joints occurring as the muscles relaxed themselves. Everyone here seemed to be so on edge here, of course they had every right to be since this city was bad enough to be called Panic City. Leon had not been in the city for long, but he had already been jumped about four times. Of course he left a pile of ash in his wake, but the point was that these people seemed to think that they could jump just about anyone. He should really change that.

Why was this man here? His buddies known as the Red Lions back in New York had decided that his reputation was getting a bit much for the man. He had refused to leave, and they had kidnapped him and dumped him here with threats that if he ever came back they would gun him down. Those damn idiots. He knew that they were just looking out for him, but still, those damn idiots. He may have been their leader, but that did not mean they did not have wills of their own.

Guess this just meant he would have to start from scratch, build back up his gang. If those fools are still around in New York then he'll just fuse the two. He was still technically their leader, and always would be while he still breathed. He had been in that position for well over a decade, he wasn't about to give it up anytime soon.

To begin, he would need some cash. Best method of getting cash? Stealing. He could not do any bank robberies anytime soon, but he could pick pocket! The man continued through the street, people passing by him and giving him shady glances. This would not do, everyone was too on guard. Nothing like a good panic to get everyone to drop their guards for the concern of another human being's safety! He pulled out a match, though instead of stroking it, it simply lit on fire on it s own. He continued along and just passed a smoker, perfect target. He threw the match into the smoker's hoodie pocket discreetly. A few moments later, the man was screaming on trying to pat down the flames.

He seemed to have forgotten how to stop, drop and roll, as the man simply continued to try and pat himself down as he was being engulfed in flames. People around him began to cry out in fear and back away from the man. While the people were panicking, their wallets were being swiped. One pocket, two pocket, three! Six pocket Seven pocket more! He stopped just before someone finally rushed out with a fire extinguisher, the man's clothes had been severely burned and even some of his skin but it did not seem damaged to the point of death. That was easy.

However, despite the amount of pockets he was able to pick, he only came up with 15 dollars. Were these people already picked or did they just lack the trust of carrying wads of cash around? He stuffed the money into his pants pocket, zipping up the zipper of the pocket. It was difficult to pick pocket a covered pocket, so his money was surely safe there.

Mayu heard the commotion before she even saw it. Turning sharply to her right she saw a guy lit up like a fire work as he hit himself in a effort to put out the flames. Was that guy seriously trying to beat the flames out? Guess there was no such thing as stop drop and roll in his mind. Pity. As Mayu started to relax some when she noticed the guy wasn't running in her direction but spinning around in small circles looking quite ridiculous, she started to notice something out of the ordinary about the whole scene.

While everyone else was running around, freaking out, or trying to help there was one person in particular who was walking among them. Not running, no trying to help, none of that just... walking among the crowd. Almost as if it were a wonderful day and he had not a care in the world. 

Something was clearly up.

Mayu then gasped as she realized what was going on, it was almost so subtle that it was next to impossible to see unless you were looking for it. The small hand movements that could only mean that this guy was a pickpocket-er, and he was no novice at it either. Exactly the person she was looking for.


Wasting no tine, Mayu started to trail the guy at a distance, it was safe to assume that since it was not this guys first time doing this he probably wasn't an idiot, so trailing behind him had to be done with extreme caution. Last thing Mayu wanted was for him to turn around and rob her! Moving silently, she made sure to keep a good distance from the man as he walked away and down a street. Keeping to she shadows Mayu tried her best to hide behind something at every chance she got to keep from being spotted. 

Today seemed to be rather overcast as dirt, dirt and more dirt blocked the view of the sky. Leon scratched behind his ear, stopping at a stand to buy a hotdog. He debated buying one for the little missy that seemed to be following him, she seemed to think she was super sneaky, but he had caught her sketchy movements out of the corner of his eye while he had turned to the hotdog stand. Why the hell was she following him? Did she see what he had done? No, it was nearly impossible to piece together that he had set the man on fire. What had 'occurred' was simply, the man had used a match to light his cigarette, but had absentmindedly placed the match in his jacket without putting it out.

He ordered a second hot dot as his stomach still growled after consuming the first, he packed it into a plastic container that concealed the outside from it, and kept moving. He decided to have a bit of fun with this little missy if she was so hell bent on following him. He continued walking along, before sharply side stepping into the and alley. It may have even looked like he was pulled in, oh well, he had not intended for that, but it did not matter. He walked down the alley, it was a straight forward one, with a few garbage dumpsters within.

He moved swiftly, opening one of the flaps of the dumpster and hopping in, hotdog still in hand. He closed the lid above him, slowly and quietly while keeping a small opening for him to see through in case she passed by. He would wait here for a bit, see if she came by. If not, then he'll just forget about it and get on with his life, that simple.

Huh? What was going on now? Mayu ducked behind a building before the guy she was following turned around, not that she knew if he tuned around or not but she wanted to be safe. If she learned anything from trailing people before it was that you had to try to predict what they would do before they did it. Usually it worked fine.

After a few seconds of hiding Mayu peeked from behind the building only to see the guy stopping at a hot dog stand. This was news to her, when did they start selling food down here? Guess she never trusted the food in the area and she didn't blame herself, if she ran a food stand in a bad part of town she may poison the food occasionally too. Never knew what would happen.

After a few seconds of hiding she decided to keep moving at a fair distance, if the guy saw her he didn't make it known, until he did the strangest thing. Turn into a alley. Just like that. Mayu stopped in her tracks for a second truly confused, then recovered and slowly followed him into the alley. Just look natural, look like you belong in a alley, only people who look like- What?! Where did he go?? Mayu stood in the middle of the alley turning around slowly. Where did he go?? Is dude like some... invisible man or something? 

He hears the stepping of tentative footsteps, he waits until he sees the dark figure that was trailing him. He tenses up, and springs the top of the garbage can open and spoke in a purposely boisterous voice, "Well hello there little lady! Would you like a Hotdog?" he was still crouched in the trash, not minding the filth, while the lid of the dumpster slammed against the wall behind it and bounced before remaining there. He held out the hot dog that was still in its plastic holder as an offering while his other arm acted as a pillow for his head as he rested it on the edge of the dumpster. Though he was on alert and ready to dodge if the woman decided to turn around and smack or punch him in any way.

He didn't know this girl, but she did not seem too old. She was probably around his age when he started living the life of thrills and law breaking. He did not have a rather intimidating look on his face, as he did not plan to fight this girl in any way unless she decided to attack him with her guns blazing. She was young, he was older, he could easily overpower her. He did not care if he attracted the attention of outside the alley, again, if anybody tried to assault him, he'd just kick their ass. He was fairly confident in his skills, and he practically radiated his own power. Actually, he literally did. The air around him was always uncomfortably warm to others, while touching him was like sticking a finger in boiling water.

If there was one thing Mayu was not, it was vigilant. Of course living in a town prone to attacks, and roberies you think she would be but that skill never sank in too much. It just never seemed like a majorly important thing to really have. Call it ignorance, or just pure stupidity, but Mayu swore that being vigilant just got in the way of other things. But this was a moment where being vigilant would have been better than nothing. 

As some completely random guy jumped out of a dumpster, her first and immediate reaction was to scream, and back up against the wall as she slowly slid to the ground. Then he said the weirdest thing: "Well hello there little lady! Would you like a Hotdog?"
Mayu stared at the man and opened her mouth to say something but found that no words would come out. Was this the same guy who was stealing money from others? The same guy who she was trailing a while ago? He probably had some weird secret agenda that involved some freaky crime, she thought to herself. But why hide in a dumpster and scare a her? Why her of all people?? Maybe because you were being creepy first? A voice reasoned in her head. Maybe...

"N-n-no thanks! I'm fine!" She squeaked, her voice raspy from screaming. "W-why hide in a dumpster? Why jump out and scare me like that?" She asked, starting to recover from the shock of being jumped scared. "W-why offer me food? You can't poison me! And i won't give you anything either!" Not like i have anything... still getting robbed does not sound like fun. She reasoned with herself. "W-why all this???" She asked gesturing to everything in front of her, still on the ground across from the garbage can. This guy didn't seem too hostile...

Screams, she's scared, reasonable but it's funny as hell. Leon thought it was kind of cute how flustered she was, or was it just plain fear? He didn't mean to be intimidating...ah well! He cracked a laugh at her fear, nobody in town reacted to it. It kind of disgusted him, he was not the sort to attack anyone, in fact if he saw someone getting attacked and mugged he'd probably help. His criminal light only shown really in the form of stealing and beating the crap out of people who deserve it. If you're going to take their money, you don't need to give them a hospital bill to with it. Save for that guy he had set on fire. He was an exception. He was smoking in a nonsmoking area-JUST MOVE ALONG DON'T MIND ANYTHING I'VE SAID ITS NOT LIKE HE WAS SERIOUSLY HURT JUST A FEW BURNS.

He shrugged, "Because I felt like it and it's funny," he spoke as if it were obvious. He looked to the hotdog as she mentioned poisons, were they poisoned? He probably should have thought about that before he ate them. He didn't feel any different other than slightly queasy, but that didn't happen until she mentioned the poisoned part so it was likely just his body reacting to the thought of being poisoned. It was really a bad idea to poison the food when running a food business, but everyone down here was so on edge and shady looking he wouldn't put it past them.

"I'm not askin' for anything," Leon responded to her comments on not giving him anything, "typically I like to question the people who're playing super secret agent with me and stalking me down a road. I know i'm hot but damn girl, I'm WAY too old for you!" he teased the girl.

As soon as the guy said that the reason why he jumped out of a dumpster was because he felt like it and because it was funny, Mayu knew that he was no threat at all. At least she thought... Maybe being vigilant was the best thing to be right now. Very vigilant...

Clearing her throat, Mayu got up off the ground and got into a standing position trying to look fully recovered but was trembling slightly. What if there were more guys like this one in the alley?? With that thought she unintentionally whipped her head around looking for others but there as no one. Just the guy in a dumpster, and her. Still! Making sure to lean against the wall, Mayu figured that at least no one would be able to attack her from behind. 

"I-i not even slightly entertaining..." She said hating the fact that her voice was a little shaky. "Could have hurt someone!" Then the guy then started explaining why he did it in the first place. He had noticed her following him. Blushing darkly, Mayu looked away. Well guess she wasn't as good of a sneak as she thought, how embarrassing... Just when she thought that she was doing so well, she finds out that she is put back at square one. Well it could be worse, he could have robbed her. But he didn't.... yet.
"Well... I'll have you know I wasn't stalking you... I was watching you set some guy on fire." She said half halfheartedly. Of course that wasn't possible, dude caught on fire because he was smoking and got careless not because this guy did it. "And for the record I don't date older weirdos. So you don't have to worry about that." 

Leon was surprised, she had actually seen that? There was a look of shock on his face, "You actually saw that? Surprising, I thought everyone else was too busy worrying about their own hides to keep a look out for a walking match stick."

The girl seemed a bit less terrified, but still pretty scared from her stuttering. Leon listened as she spoke of her dating life, this one seemed to have quite the mouth. Either that or it was her fear talking. Then again, what was he to expect from someone in this kind of place? He didn't like this underground business, he would much rather be chased by police than to be surrounded with people that sold slaves and killed for fun. He finally tossed the hotdog, a waste of money, but it was not like it was his money, before hopping out of the bin. He stood taller than the young girl, before leaning back against the trash can.

"So, you some kind of cop? It doesn't quite require you to follow me down a whole street to watch me make someone a nice warm coat out of fire," The Red Lion awaited the answer, he did not know whether or not he should be surprise if she were an officer of the law. This place was crawling with criminals, a good place for a cop to go if they wanted a raise, but then again it might be because there's so few cops that there are so many criminals. He figured it was likely that this place was unheard of to the authorities, or at least a blind eye was turned towards it. He hoped that they would put up a better fight with him than they do around this town, it'd be too boring!

"Wait, you actually did that? I didn't think you really did! I was being sarcastic!" Mayu exclaimed a little too loudly. Maybe she was a bit in too in over her head. But of course no one would be around to save her, she was in the bad part of town after all, so why not go with it? "W-why set that poor guy on fire? I mean...wasn't he hurt badly?" It wasn't like she didn't care about the guy, she was just still trying to figure everything out. And the major question still had not been answered yet, was she in any immediate danger? 

Mayu liked to think of herself as a solitary person, maybe something of a... kitten? She doesn't look dangerous but if provoked she could get mad and do some damage. Of course thinking of oneself as a kitten wasn't the most flattering but it was the only thing she could think of that described her well. For the pure fact that Mayu had not been in any situations where she got scared by anyone, this was a truly awkward moment for her, and then knowing that someone was probably a pyromaniac didn't help things in the slightest. Well... you are not smoking so I doubt that will set him off... Dude has no reason to burn you... only thing he knows is that...you are a weirdo little girl stalking him and you saw that he set some guy on fire. No biggie... That little self talk of reassurance failed, badly. Mentally kicking herself for making herself even more flustered than before, Mayu almost missed the guys next question. 

"No, no I'm not a cop! I'm um... some girl.. who doesn't live anywhere.. or own a shop. No shop at all. Or.. anything of value. Like... I have nothing! Just don't set me on fire!" Mayu blurted all in one go. Oh god.. now she done it. Now she would be seen as a total spaz, which she normally wasn't but how would this guy know when she was acting like a total weirdo right now?!

Oh, so the girl didn't actually see it. Leon listened as she questioned him, wondering why he had set the guy on fire. He shrugged, "Everyone is so on edge here that a distraction was needed so I could pick-pocket their cash. He didn't get too hurt and its his own fault for not knowing how to stop, drop and roll to suffocate the flames."

She then answered his question on whether or not she was a cop, stuttering and pausing, obviously lying. It was when she begged him not to set her on fire that he began to laugh, "You're a terrible liar it seems as well, I'm not going to set you on fire unless you pull out a gun or some kind of weapon on me."

"It's a part of Lion's Honor to not kill someone without good cause. The man back there obviously did not die, so it's fine. I have no reason to hurt you and even if I wanted to take your stuff i'd have done it already," Leon spoke, referring to the fact that he could easily over power her. Though she did not know of his abilities, even in hand to hand without them he could beat her in a contest of strength. He figured that she probably had some kind of shop due to how much emphasis she put on not having one and within her panicked state was lying.

So this young lady had a shop down here? No, from how jumpy she was she did not seem to be used to being down here which meant that she must have had one on the surface. Interesting, he had never met someone who owned a shop, let alone someone as young as her. Was it even legal for her to own a shop? The Red Lion dismissed the matter from his thoughts, it was unimportant for now, no need to worry about it.

Criminals may not have had the best reasons for doing what they did, but it was still really fascinating that they had the ability to do it. Hopefully Mayu could become that great one day, jut pickpocket people right under their noses. But until then she would settle for learning from others. But getting aught was not the way to do it. "Well maybe the guy was too panicked to know about dropping and rolling?" Mayu muttered lowly at the mans comment about the guy he set on fire.

Blushing darkly, Mayu tried to cover her embarrassment by trying to stand a little taller and blowing the whole thing off. "I am usually a pretty good liar thank you very much." Just not today after getting jumped scared by a guy from a dumpster. She finished in her head. Under normal circumstances Mayu was a pretty good liar when she tried. But if she was scared out of her mind everything went to shit. "And no worries, I don't have any weapons or anything on me. Just my cards." She played with them in her hands some. "Totally harmless"

Listening to what the man was actually saying, Mayu started to relax some. So he was the kind of criminal that had a reason for what they did, except when he stole from others. Wouldn't expect less from a criminal. But there was one thing Mayu couldn't wrap her head around. "Lion's Honor?" She asked cautiously. What was that? Something that had to do with animals? Some kind of cult? Something that had to do with Africa? All three??

Not like it mattered much to her, she would just go along her merry way and hope to not run into this fire guy ever again. She hoped. 

What? How did she not know Lion's honor? Oh, right, the people down here didn't have a clue as to what Red Lion was. Leon spoke, "Lions Honor, it's like a code of sort or a rulebook for people in the gang, team, gaggle, whatever you want to call it called Red Lions."

"It's a vicious gang in New York that strikes fear into the heart of any lowly criminal, nobody dares to mess with a single one of their subordinates else risk the fate of being mauled to death by a thousand blood stained lions and all that jazz," Leon repeated what the lower members on the chain would always preach. Sure they got cocky, but it wasn't his problem if they picked a fight only to lose it was only his problem if the other person threw the first swing. Leon moved his arms into an obvious shrug as if it were no big deal, "And you're looking at their leader. Can't exactly go around breaking my own code now can I?"

He crossed his arms once more, watching the girl for her reaction. She seemed to just be an ordinary young lady who might have wandered into the bad part of town, then again it did take having to go down an entire sewer system and finding a hidden entrance just to get down here. Long story short, the odds of her being down here on accident were astronomical. Which meant she had instead wandered down the wrong path of life and came down here on purpose. Why would she be down here though? The thrills? Shits and giggles?

It was all almost laughable. This guy, who was in a dumpster, was the leader of a gang? That he claimed to have been really powerful? Of course. And Mayu was the queen of England. Right. Holding a good composure, Mayu coughed some trying to come up with something to say back. But she soon found she had no idea what to say. Asking more about this so called gang would only make things even funnier in her mind and she would burst out laughing. Maybe if she just kept things light she wouldn't crack.

"So... about your... gang? Are they here with you? Or...?" It was all far fetched really. This weirdo leading a gang of people to do... to do what? Rob people she guessed. The word gang just didn't sound good. The only other time Mayu could think of herself hearing about a gang was when she was in elementary school. The kids were trying to be cool and they were running around yelling how they were in a gang. Heck, they didn't even know what a gang was. They just heard the word and thought it was cool. The second time was now. Funny that she had not heard it before living in this town. 

"Or are they like...I don't know...," Here was where Mayu started to lose her composure and laugh a little. "Hunting for animals in Africa or something? Or making you a red lino skin cape? Something like that?" Buy the time she finished her sentence Mayu was full out laughing. Not so hard that she was crying but it was a good laugh. All of a sudden this guy didn't seem like he would harm a fly. What in the world was she scared of before?