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"I'm going for it."

"You <i>what</i>?" Wide hazel eyes tore themselves from the pattern they traced in the dust. "Are you ser— " The look his compatriot gave him was enough of a reply to sever the rest of his sentence. "Itada..."

The one called Itada rubbed his nose and turned, surveying the prey again. "I said, 'I'm going for it'." His stance was that of a crouching tiger, coiled like a spring, still on all fours. And it might have looked ridiculous, save for the cat's tail that twisted impatiently behind him. Save for the ears atop his head pushed flat back, and glowing green eyes, with slitted pupils.

Not so much a tiger as a kitten, this one was...though he should be given credit for trying.

"Oh, you have <i>got</i> to be kidding me." His elder brother snorted. "Just forget it. It's nothing. This isn't even in the city, remember? It's nothing."

"It's <i>something</i>, Wareta." A feral grin spread across his face. "A <i>something</i>. And as a <i>something</i>, I want it."

"Wait! Itada-!" the elder hissed.

But Itada pounced.



Aysel Lexis turned away from her desk, too occupied with the subject of last night's unfinished homework to think quite clearly. If she hadn't aimlessly paced back and forth before finally remembering just what it <i>was</i> she was supposed to be doing, she wouldn't have seen him.

A little boy, neatly hopping over the railing of her balcony. What was even stranger was that his right hand was extended, and his eyes seemed to be focused on the bracelet on her bench.

As his fist closed around his objective, she finally realized that this little 'boy' was actually a little 'thief', and ran outside as he leaped back out. Carefree and spritely as he came.

Completely stupefied, she leaned far out and called to the retreating figure. Scanning the surroundings yielded no solution— while it hadn't quite clicked yet that yelling at a thief wouldn't help, she <i>did</i> unconsciously realize that leaping from the second floor would probably help less.

Wait! There <i>was</i> something! The pencil sharpener, on the corner of her desk. That ought to do nicely. With one hand, she grasped it firmly, tearing the plug out of its comfortable socket. With no hesitation, she ran back out and threw, calling to him once again.

"Stop right there!"

Command plus projectile. It seemed like a logical mix...though it would have been slightly more effective if she'd actually hit him. Instead, her pencil sharpener splintered as the corner slammed into the brick wall below him, and Itada started so violently that he nearly fell.

Rather than simply letting it go, something about how close she'd gotten to his tail made him turn his head and hiss in anger, bristling and baring sharp teeth.

Aysel shrieked and fell backwards, landing on the cement with a painful thud. Itada pouted once more, and then propelled himself over the wall, out of sight. Somewhere in the shadows, Wareta slapped his hand against his forehead, groaning at the foolish mistake his little brother had just made.

Now the fact that Itada had slipped up was undeniable...but whether <i>Aysel</i> made a mistake or not is a subject that will forever be under close scrutiny.