Hidden in the Shadows -One Piece-

Chapter 2

Chapter shout out! Yukiharu_038, and  tcol521

I don't own One Piece

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A short, dark skin woman walked down the packed sidewalk of the market alongside the large canal, just as packed. Many greeted her as she passed as 'Lee-san', 'Lee-chan', and 'Shipwright-chan', all returned with a simple wave, smile, or hello as she made her way through the crowd.

Many would call this dark skinned girl pretty, in a different type of way. Her eyes and smile seemed to draw people in, but then if she was to turn her back and walk away, it would be like she would dissipate on the spot. Nothing else about her seemed to stand out and 'clear a path' the way other 'pretty' people seemed to. Nor did she feel the need to wear clothes that liked to show a large amount of skin. Just the exact opposite actually. Most of her skin was covered. She was wearing a simple green t-shirt with faded ripped jeans rolled up to her knees, coils of rope attached to nearly every belt loop. Her forearms and legs were wrapped in a white bandage, ending at her fingers and heels, the latter couldn't really be seen though because of the black working boots she wore on her feet that laced up passed her wrapped ankles. On the top of her head she wore a bright yellow bandana, just encase any of the hairs that she had pulled back into a high ponytail tried to escape, so that they still wouldn't fall into her face.

Lee smiled politely at one more person that greeted her with a friendly 'good morning Lee-chan' before she looked up at the sky and noticed how high the sun had climbed. It was nearly mid-morning now.

'I really am going to be late if I keep it up at this pace,'she thought to herself as she tried to walk a little faster, but the crowd around her was too thick, so all the speed did was hinder her even more.

'Well, I guess I'll have to take the high road today. Darn, wish I had brought my jacket with me today if I had known this.'Lee turned onto a different street the moment she found one that was less crowded, always aware of the water around her. As she untied one of the coils of rope from her jeans she looked up at the two walls that surrounded her. She stared at the two before she found a suitable target, a small escape ladder located about halfway up one of the building, which was across the canal that was filled with people and bulls.

"That'll do," she lifted an arm over her head, swinging on end of the rope like a propeller above her, before she snapped her wrist, sending the rope flying towards the bottom of the ladder, tying in tightly to the last rung when it made contact. Lee gave it a few experimental tugs, making sure that it was secure. After she made sure she took off running, building up speed so that she could clear the canal when she jumped across, and let the force pull her as she hung onto the rope, sending her to the other wall. AT the last second she flipped her body around so her feet hit the wall, making her stand at an angle, and with hanging on tightly to her end she scaled her way up the with ease. Reaching the ladder in a few seconds.

When she had safely hooked her legs onto the bottom rung of the ladder and had an arm hanging around the next she quickly untied the rope before she made it the rest of the way, flipping over the railing when she reached that roof. Another flick of the wrist, the limp rope that she had brought up with her and was laying on the roof's ground expertly coil back into her hands.

'I must be getting out of practice. That took longer to do than normal. See, this is why I hate jobs that require me to travel long distances,' Ashlee scowled as she looked down the six story wall that she had just climbed. She shook her head and moved into a crouched stretch, one legs extended to the side for a few seconds before she swapped legs, her arms stretched above her head. "Well, no matter. That pompous marine brat paid handsomely, so I can't say it wasn't worth it. Plus, I even got to dig up some information up about one of my targets, though it wasn't about on of the big fish I'm after."