Knives Drawn, Guns Blazing (Espio the Chameleon x Reader)

1

A/n: I lied. I changed the title. But I also changed the plot a billion times, so...

The city was high end, lights blocking out the stars at night and competing with the sun during the day.

Charmy loved it. Vector acted dismissive, but Espio could tell that he was enjoying the luxury.

Espio thought it was too much. The noise, the lights, the people. He just couldn't turn down a good hunt.

In this case, however, he wasn't positive he was the one doing the hunting. He liked to think he had a sixth sense for when he was being followed, and as he'd stalked down the streets, he'd constantly glanced over his shoulder, spine stiff.

Slipping into the next alley he passed, he drew one of his kunais and shifted out of view. He pressed himself against the wall, monitoring anywhere someone might enter the alley.

He was only waiting for a minute before a figure ducked into the alley, clad in black, their features shadowed. Espio tightened his grip on the kunai, narrowing his eyes. The figure drew two identical blades strapped across their back, holding them in front of themselves.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." The voice was female, with a sultry lull to it that reminded the chameleon vaguely of Rouge. "Sly, aren't you?"

Espio threw the kunai, aiming for her shoulder. She, to his surprise, dodged, jumping on top of one of the dumpsters pressed against the wall. "Gonna have to be a little faster than that," she said. Espio could now just barely make out the color of her eyes. (E/c). He could tell she was grinning.

So an indirect approach wouldn't work. Espio was fine with that.

He used the wall to leap nimbly onto the dumpster as quietly as possible, drawing another kunai. His assailant tilted her head in his direction. She angled one of her blades towards him. "Is that you?" Deciding to humor her, he slowly shifted back into view and he saw the glint of her pearly white teeth as her grin widened. "There you are." She bent her knees slightly, her blades catching the light bleeding into alley. "Don't go easy on me."

Espio lifted a brow, sidestepping as she lunged for him. She ducked his own swing and brought her blade up, though he went for a kick to her side, which knocked her to one knee. She swept at his legs with one blade, flipping the other so the hilt faced upwards and hit Espio's chin in a sharp uppercut. He stumbled backwards, balancing precariously on the edge of the dumpster before regaining his footing and palming a shuriken. He threw it and heard the tiny hiss that confirmed he'd hit her.

"Ow." His lips quirked upwards.

"I do believe you told me not to go easy on you."

"Touché." She straightened and flipped her blades in her hands. "Guess I'll have to pick up my game." She swung at him as she jumped forward and Espio leaned back, the blade whistling over his face. He straightened and blocked her fist with his forearm, hooking one foot behind her knee and jerking forward. She yelped and dropped to her knees; Espio grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back, her blade clattering to the lid of the dumpster as he pressed the kunai to her neck. He pressed his foot to her other blade as she attempted to raise it, though all she did was sigh as if mildly inconvenienced.

A bullet suddenly hurtled into the brick wall just beside Espio's face, red dust spraying into his eyes. He coughed, jerking away from his attacker and leaping off the dumpster. Another gunshot ricocheted off the ground by his feet and he shifted out of view, ducking behind the dumpster.

"Alright, Thundershot, you got him! You got him," the female still perched on the dumpster shouted.

"You sure, lady? He had you there for a moment." This new voice was male and had an Eastern accent. The owner of said voice jumped down from his own perch, slinging a sniper gun across his back as he approached his apparent partner.