Half of Nothing - Chapter 1

The city was quiet for once as the lights turned off, the sound seemingly going mute as night settled in. Small hover cars drove through the streets silently, their motors seemingly soundless. The half-breed, hiding in the shadows of a large building, sighed heavily with a small shake of his head. His sandy colored hair dipped into his auburn eyes until he allowed them to slip closed. He didn't belong here; no one wanted him here. But fleeing the city was easier said than done, as he had soon found out. If it had been easy to leave, he would have done so years ago. The gang he was currently working with wouldn't allow him to leave. He was valuable to him. They were a rough bunch, sure, but they were the only family he had, they were the only ones that accepted him. Although most of them were rude and harmful, there were a rare few that he actually confided in. A few were actually friends. With another sigh, he opened his eyes and scanned the buildings again. The sun was sinking into the earth, casting shadows through the city, exploding colors through the sky. A thin smirk came to his face as he watched the colors battle for control over the air. He had always loved watching the sun set; he wasn't sure why, but he did. He took a step back and turned into the alley, the shadows making him seem almost invisible. To the human eye, anyway. Traveling through the dark alleys that he knew all too well, he heard the patter of footsteps behind him, smashing against the damp dirt covered ground. It had rained a few hours before, and though the day had been rather warm, not all of the water had left the ground. Now he turned, watching as a figure walked toward him. He stiffened for a moment, but then relaxed his posture when he recognized the figure.

"Hey, Leo," he said in a soft, quiet voice. His tone was quiet, cautious, though he didn't really mean for it to be. Old habits die hard, he noticed. That saying was true. "What's up?"

The figure stopped next to him and paused. "Boss wants to see you," he said.

He went rigid. "Why?" he whispered. He knew it usually wasn't good for the boss to call you in without reason. Thinking back, he was unaware that he had done anything wrong today. In fact, he had mainly been trying to avoid people. He hadn't bothered anyone, hadn't talked to anyone...so what was going on? "What's he want?"

Leo shrugged easily. "Not sure. Lenny wouldn't tell me anything, just said the boss wanted to see ya."

"Oh...okay..." he sighed heavily and turned on his heel, marching in the direction of the club his gang currently occupied. Leo didn't follow; perhaps he'd been given direct orders not to come back to the club for a while, or maybe there was something going on that he was unaware of. Shaking his head slowly, he opened the doors of the club and found himself face to face with two angry looking men. Between them was a small girl, fearfully trying to get out of their grasp. There was something different about her, but he couldn't place it at the moment. Glaring at the two men, he calmly told them to release her.

They laughed. One of them, the biggest one with a hat tucked down to his eyes, said, "Ain't that funny? He wants we should let her go."

The second, a guy with no hat and a bald head, laughed again. "Sorry lad, but that ain't happenin'." they lifted the small girl up by her arms. Her eyes grew wide with fear and she looked at the half-breed pleadingly.

"Help me!" she squeaked, desperately trying to get away. "Don't let them take me, please!"

He watched her slowly. A hand suddenly gripped his shoulder, making him stiffen and spin to face who it was. The boss stood there, smiling. He didn't like the look on his face at all. "Sir...what's going on?" he asked in his most neutral tone.

"Thank you for coming so quickly, Aaron," the boss told him. He nodded slowly. "This child broke into the club and stole some food, along with a little money. I was just tossing her out." he nodded to the two men, who began hauling the girl out of the club.

"No!" she cried, trying to break free. Her sea green eyes begged for him to do something. "Please, help me! They'll kill me!"

Her tone made Aaron want to believe her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. His boss, though unkind at times, was never a killer. He never killed without reason, and this girl was no trouble. She had only taken food and a little bit of money; it wouldn't get her killed. But still, Aaron wondered why she was so terrified if she was only being thrown out.

"Please!" she desperately tried to reach out to him. "Please, help me!" one of the men put a hand over her mouth and cut off her pleas, dragging her out of the building.

Aaron's eyes followed after her. "What are they going to do with her?"

The boss shrugged. "I told them to throw her out."

"Hmm...sir, what is it that you wished to see me about?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the door the girl had been taken through. His ears, better than a normal human's, could pick up the muffled sounds of laughter.

"I was only going to give you this week's pay, Aaron," said the boss, handing him a wad of bills. Aaron didn't have to look at it to see that it was his usual pay, and that it was still about fifty dollars short of the regular guys' pay. Since he was a half-breed, he didn't get paid as much. Though on some occasions, he was paid more, when the boss was in the mood. "I hope that covers your troubles, my boy." with that, he turned and headed into the shadows of the club.

Aaron watched after him with careful eyes, hidden beneath his sandy bangs. Shooting a look at the door, he heard a muffled scream. His heart lurched and he soon found himself racing out the door and into the alley next to the builing. There, the two guys were holding the girl in the air, up against the wall. Her green eyes fixed on him and once again pleaded for help. A rough hand was still clamped over her mouth, cutting any shouts short.

"Hey," Aaron stated as he moved toward the two men. They laughed and looked at him.

"What?" the first asked. "Want us to let her go?" and he broke off laughing.

The second joined in. "Like that'll happen."

"He only told you to throw her out," said Aaron, his voice like acid. The two stopped laughing and looked at him, apparantly not liking the tone of his voice. "He said nothing about doing this."

"What's it to ya?" the second asked.

"Yeah," the first one said, standing a little straighter. He smiled suddenly. "Hey, Mirash, maybe we should teach him a lesson."

Mirash nodded. "Yes, we should. Excellent idea, Freddo."

Freddo smile and released his hold on the girl. Mirash released her as well, and she slid down the wall to the ground, whimpering and cowering in fear. Now Aaron got a fell for how young she really was; she didn't look any older than eight, maybe a little younger. Freddo took the first step toward him, and Aaron immediately went into a defensive position, making less of a target zone. If there was one thing he knew, it was how to fight. Freddo charged toward him and the girl yelped out a frightened warning. Aaron merrily dodged to one side and tripped Freddo's feet out from under him. Freddo landed with a harsh thud on the ground. Mirash growled and charged toward him. Aaron had been ready for it though, and sidestepped, causing Mirash to go flying past him. Unaware that Freddo had recovered so quickly, it took him by surprise when his foot was yanked on and he was sent tumbling to the ground. Mirash was on him in a second, throwing punches and cursing. On the sidelines, Freddo was laughing and watching with interest, slowly moving back to the girl, who was watching with wide eyes and trying to become one with the wall.

Aaron growled beneath his breath and kicked Mirash off of him, sending him flying a few feet into the nearest dumpster. Hitting the side of it, he slid to the ground with a groan and went still. Aaron guessed that he had hit his head, but didn't spend any time dwelling on it. Turning back to face Freddo, he found that he had a knife out and was glaring at him with hatred. Freddo took a step toward him, but Aaron was becoming annoyed. Leaping forward, he rammed his fist into Freddo's gut, knocking the air out of him as he stumbled back. Aaron wasted no time, and hauled the girl to her feet, racing out of the alley and into the safety of another. He shushed her when she began to speak, and waited for Freddo to leave the immediate area before he let out his pent up breath.

"You okay, kid?" he asked, flicking his gaze to her. She was gripping his rumpled shirt tightly, fearfully burying her head into his side. "Kid?" he asked, softening his voice.

"Are...are they gone?" she questioned in a shaky voice.

He nodded. "Yeah, they're gone. Are you okay?"

She pulled her head back a little, peering up at his face. No doubt it was hidden by the shadows, but it seemed that she could see it perfectly. "I'm fine...thank you," she whispered, and suddenly hugged him tightly, burying her head into his side again.

Aaron stiffened, but then forced himself to relax. This girl meant no harm, she was only thanking him. He awkwardly patted her back. "Erm...you're welcome."

"They were going to kill me..." her body trembled as shaky breaths escaped her. Aaron felt a wetness leak through his shirt to touch his skin. "They really were..."

"...I wouldn't have let them," he told her softly, and he knew in his heart that it was true.

She pulled back briefly and wiped at her eyes, sniffling. "I'm...I'm Amuina...what's your name?"

He paused. "I'm...Aaron," he murmured. For a moment he had been about to give her a fake name, but then had thought better of it. She would figure it out sooner or later anyway, he was sure, so he might as well save her the trouble. Besides, she looked harmless enough.

"Hi, Aaron...thank you so much for saving me."