"No sir, I am not on the menu," the silvery blue haired barista gives a customer a disappointed look, "That would be considered cannibalism."
The man groans, "Ah, just give me a chance and stop being such a hard ass!"
The lady sweeps a few locks of hair from the side of her face. Each strand looked to be as light as mist, flowing in the air as if she were a ghost. However, she's young, vibrant, and quite far away from being old enough for ghost status. Her expression shifts, noticeably tired of this man's poor attempts at appealing to her.
"Would you like your coffee to go, or would you like to dine in?"
He rubs his temples in a stressed manner. A bit of frustration and embarrassment wells up inside of him. He's holding up a line of people, after all.
He says through gritted teeth, "Just give me the damn coffee and take my money."
Pulling a small bag of coins out of his back pocket, the man sorts through the change trying to add up the right amount to pay. Though suddenly, his expression twists in a confused fashion. He is seen recounting, and coming back to the same reaction in moments.
"Hold on, I thought I had-"
The cafe door swings open, and the door bell chimes. As swift as a gust of wind, a hooded figure slips out into the city streets. The heads of all the customers swivel to watch the scene unfold, whispers and gasps erupt from within the shop.
"Hey! That thief just stole my gold -!" the man exclaims, rushing towards the door after the culprit.
"- Alert the imperial guard," the barista interrupts him, her outfit completely different from before, "This won't take long."
"Playing hero again? You have ten minutes, Leila," the lady's black haired coworker glances up towards the door, "If you're not back in time, the boss'll have to dock your pay."
Leila looks back with a nod.
She leaps forward, bursting out of the cafe with a fiery blue mist surrounding her. Her eyes comb through the crowd, and she instantly locks on to the bandit. In only a few steps, the distance between the two is shortened to mere inches. This movement of hers was quick, sporadic, and swift. Almost as if she only appeared in flashes of her own image.
The thief looks back, a casted shadow from their hood covers their face. As the chase continues, Leila narrows her eyes. Activating her natural gift; Spirit Eyes, the ability to see the inner souls of those around her.
"Hold on… This person's soul-"
Leila's thoughts are interrupted by a sudden attack! In combination with a front flip over a vehicle, the assailant sends a massive swarm of daggers flying straight towards her face.
Responding quickly, the blue haired lady performs a smooth backspring, leading the daggers to mostly land in a nearby fire hydrant. The last few of them, however, were headed in the direction of the wolf dog preparing to empty his bladder on the hydrant.
"How cruel."
Realizing this action was meant to pose as more of a distraction than an attack, Leila relentlessly continues the chase. Making sure not to lose sight of the thief. Those stray knives however, were still stopped in their tracks. Caught in place by a ghostly blue aura, just inches away from the urinating wolf dog.
"Surrender the money, and we will not have to involve law enforcement!" Leila exclaims as she closes in once more.
"Eat shit and die bimbo!" a young female voice shouts back at her, "Some of us need to steal to live!"
Leila's eyes widened, but not at the insult. For some reason, that voice was familiar to her.
"... Could it really be?"
The two cut into an alleyway, and the hooded woman takes to the sidewalls. She bounces back and forth from both walls, gaining elevation in a zig-zag pattern. Just as her silhouette slips over the rooftop of one of the buildings, Leila comes to a sliding stop below. Staring intently towards the sky above.
On the rooftop, the young thief catches her breath while slowing down her running pace. She checks behind her, and sees that the barista was no longer following her.
"Damn, she was fast," she mutters through hyperventilation, "I almost didn't make it out of there…"
Just as she looks forward, her face is met with an abrupt impact! A kick delivered to her temple that sends her into an airborne full body spin for a few seconds. She lands on her back, with her hood slipping back from her head, and the stolen bag of money spilled over the rooftop tiles. Her long brown hair spills out on the floor around her, as she motions towards leaning up. Leila stands over her, the sun's light brilliantly tracing around her curves.
"- Stay down," Leila says, pinning the thief with a knee against her chest, "You don't want to make this harder than it has to be."
The girl's face was fully visible now. And the first thing she greets Leila with is a crimson red eyed glare of pure dejection. She snarls, looking at Leila's perfectly toned thighs pressing her against the roof. From the look of her muscle alone, the criminal could tell she wasn't going to win a struggle of pure strength. A few minutes ago, this blue haired lady was wearing a work uniform. Leading her to underestimate the barista's physical ability. A mistake that cost her greatly, because damn that kick hurt.
"How the hell did she even get up here that fast?" she thinks to herself, "This chick is nuts!"
"You're going to start by telling me who you are, and where you come from." Leila's fists ignite with a fiery blue energy.
"Pff, you think your weird little magic is going to scare me?" the lady remarks, "I've seen disaster after disaster, I'm not afraid of death…"
After a pause, Leila stands up. Her fists unclench, and relinquish the presence of magic. Her eyes linger on the thief, looking as if she was on the edge of saying something important.
"... This isn't right," she says, "You're nothing like her at all."
The girl leans up, brushing the bruise on the side of her face. She furrows her brows at Leila, while using her free hand to try and grab for the scattered coins. A breeze flows past the scene, sweeping both of the girls' hair up in its current. Leila's slit dress parts with the wind, as she turns her side to the girl. Glancing back towards the blank sky.
"Spirit… What is the meaning of this?"
"Look lady, I don't know who you thought I was," the criminal stumbles to her feet with a groan, "But I need you to mind your own business okay? I promise I won't steal from your shop again, just -."
"- No," Leila interrupts, glaring back.
"... What do you mean, 'no'?" she pauses.
"I mean, this is my business," Leila replies, "And you know that promise is a lie. Criminals like you are repeat offenders. This wasn't the first time, and definitely not the last time you'll target my cafe."
"Okay, okay fine!" she sighs, "You can have the money back, or whatever…"
Leil glances down at the spilled gold coins. Glimmering in the daylight like jewelry, tainted at the edges by grime.
"Keep it," she says, "I have to get back to work."
Leila turns away, and drops off the edge of the rooftop in a careless fashion.
"Hey, wait!" the girl shouts, "You could hurt yourself-!"
She looks over the edge, and notices that the blue haired lady was completely unharmed. In fact, she had changed back into her work attire that quickly, and was casually strolling back towards the cafe. Confused, the lady takes a step back. She looks back down at the coins the woman let her keep, unsure if she was dreaming or not.
"She really just chased me down, and kicked me in the head to just… Leave like that?" she thinks, "Holy smokes, that freak is a nut job!"
She falls to her rough knees, and scoops up all the coins she'd dropped. Quickly pulling her hood back up and fleeing the scene shortly after.
On the ground outside the cafe, Leila gives that direction one more glance. Before opening the door, and returning to work. Two agents of Angelus City' s Imperial Guard had shown up to the scene. She tells them that the thief had sadly gotten away.
"Dang, that mark on your cheek looks like it hurts," Leila's coworker says, "Did that bandit give it to you?"
"Mark?" she asks, feeling her cheek with a few fingers, "What mark?"
She looks down at her hand. A faint bit of glimmering blue mist stuck to her fingertips. Some strange substance that seemed to be a replacement of the woman's blood.
"... Huh."
The wound closes up completely in a few seconds, and she gives her coworker a small smile.
"I tripped and cut myself while chasing after her," she says, "No worries."