Toxic Shadows

Chapter 1

Deep in the Hidden city, a newt yokai slipped a stolen wallet into her bag. She disappeared into the shadows moments later, the adrenalin of theft slowly fading away. Hidden by the darkness of an alleyway, where no eyes could see her, she opened the wallet to see the sum of 30 dollars gleaming back at her. Her thick gloves prevented her fingerprints from staining the dark leather as she dumped the now empty wallet into a nearby dumpster. Her dark as night violet tail with an orange underside swished in the darkness as she searched for another victim.

At the end of the day, she took quick accounting of the loot she had pillaged. There were 368 dollars, a silver ring, and three expensive-looking bracelets. Securing the treasures in her belt's pocket, she took a quick rooftop shortcut to her desired destination; The Sawtooth manor. It wasn't her house, of course, a pickpocket thief such as herself could never afford to own such a luxurious location. Her boss, on the other hand, definitely could. Leatherhead, the son of the legendary Sawtooth (of whom the manor is named after), is a wealthy and powerful mafia boss that owns an enormous portion of the Hidden city's territory. However, The only reason she was allowed to go near the place was that he allowed talented thieves such as herself shelter and protection as long as he received some of their bounties. The newt made her way inside and headed up to her boss's chambers. The doors were closed so, not wanting to directly intrude, she knocked, then her boss called her in.

She entered the dimly lit room where an enormous crocodile was playing a round of poker with his equally terrifying and powerful compatriots. There was an enormous pile of chips on the table, and it looked like individuals were eagerly waiting for the last card to be shown. It was flipped over to reveal a queen. Several grimaced, but Leatherhead presented his cards and gave a cocky grin, "Royal flush, boys." The players all proceeded to throw their cards on the table in frustration as Leatherhead scooped all the chips from the table.

As the players started leaving, The newt approached Leatherhead with her bag of stolen items. "Nox! It's good to see you, what do you have for me today?" Nox presented him with her goodies. "I see, I see well done!" he took the bracelets and $200. He pressed the silver ring into her hand. "A little extra for a job well-done." Nox stared at the ring. "Th-thank you, sir." She then left with her money and the ring still in the palm of her hand.

Later, in the evening, Nox sat on her bed rolling the ring around on her fingers. She didn't know why she was so entranced by the ring. Maybe, it was because it was a gift from someone she greatly admired. Regardless, she took off her right glove and slipped the ring on her ring finger. It was a little snug but still fit. She put her glove back on as her hand felt colder without it.

Unless to wash her hands or to defend herself, she never took her gloves off. Her hands secreted a deadly toxin that paralyzed whoever came into contact with it. She always carried an antidote with her in case she touched someone she didn't intend to. She crafted the antidote herself, chemistry was her specialty.

Her first memory was of waking up on the shore of a beach, a private beach. Discovered by some "Unfriendly" frog yo-kai, she was brought to their boss; an old toad gang leader named Rulas. Instead of casting her out or killing her for trespassing, Rulas saw potential in her. She taught her how to steal and fight, and after five years Nox became an expert in the amphibian quick-strike fighting style. As it was a gang that crafted and exported drugs, Rulas also taught Nox how to mix chemicals and passed on her special notebook as a gift. Only three months after Nox's tenth birthday, Rulas passed away. Everyone expected Nox to lead, but being afraid and irresponsible, she ran. With no one to lead them, the gang fell apart.

As she lay her head down on her pillow her mind drifted around her memories. She remembered the day she was discovered for her talents by Leatherhead after trying to take his wallet. She remembered how frightened she'd been and how relieved she was when he decided to take her in. Luck was truly on her side that day. Her thoughts muddled together as she drifted off into sleep.