Triste opened the door to the shop, pushing past the crowd that had formed. She was there for one reason: get what she needed, without being seen, and then get out the same way. She pulled her black hoodie over her face, shoving her hands in her pockets. The sleeves of the hoodie had worn away long ago, leaving just the hood itself. Her short, torn-up shorts flashed off more skin than she wanted, but she was one to complain. Others had much more to whine about.

The grocery store was always full at five, but by the amount of people Triste assumed there'd been a blackout... or some were hiding. Either way, she didn't really care. Her own survival was more important than others.

"Ow," someone said as she brushed through. "Watch it, punk."

"Deal with it," she said, her voice lower than usual. "Or face the consequences."

"You deal with it," came the response. "You don't want to mess with me."

"Hon, this is downtown. And if you knew anything, you wouldn't mess with me."

She pinned him against a rack of toilet paper, her fist ready to strike. "Hey!" he whisper-hissed.

Hands separated us both, though Triste could have easily resisted if she wasn't surprised.

"Kai," she thought she heard the voice belonging to the hands say, "this isn't a fight worth fighting. Leave the girl alone."

"But... Fine, master."

"Enough of that," said a female voice. "We have bigger problems to deal with."

Triste's eyes widened. She knew that voice. "Apologies," she said quickly, dashing away from who she assumed was the master of water.

"Wait!" someone called after her, but she was already hiding in the shadows.

You shouldn't be doing this. Not in the same store as the ninja. Even you aren't that stupid, she thought, fingering the packet of fruit she wanted to put in her pocket. Eventually, she shoved it in her pocket after making sure no one was looking.

Slowly, carefully, she slid past the crowd, towards the door, feeling for it with her fingers before grasping the handle and yanking it open, running down the dirty, unlit streets as fast as possible.

A rough arm gripped her around the stomach before she reached her destination, which wasn't very far away.

"Let go," she said with gritted teeth, turning to face her captor. A mask covered half of his face, but she could still see who it was. Cringing, she closed her eyes. "Master of earth... let me go."

"Stealing isn't right, street shrimp," he said, tightening his grip.

"You don't know who I am. You don't know where I come from. You don't know the reason for which I steal, master of earth. Let. Me. Go."

"How about you give me the money for what you stole, and I go pay the storekeeper?"

"I have no money," she said, yanking herself free and pushing him to the ground. "Leave me alone."

Panting, she hid in a corner, looking for something, anything, she could use. A fire hydrant was across the street, but it was too far away for her to use. Master Cole looked around, but before he could spot her, she darted across the street, not looking to see whether or not a car was coming. "Watch out!" someone called, but she didn't care.

Something big hit her, but arms wrapped around her and knocked the rest of her out of the way.

"Oww," she said, slowly sitting up and holding her shoulder, which felt dislocated.

Five feet away from her, the black ninja stood up, ready to help her up. He walked closer, offering her a hand. "Are you hurt?"

The hydrant was right between them.

"I'm fine," she said, looking at him straight in the eye. She reached for his hand, but before he could pull her up, she yanked water from the hydrant at him. "Sorry," she whispered. "I have mouths to feed, Master Cole," she said louder, running down an alley and climbing up a rickety ladder. "Don't follow me."