The whisperer in the alleys

"The aroma of this city is distasteful," The boy thought, as he made his way down the streets and back alleys. It was nothing like the scents that wafted in the air back home. He missed the scent of apples, and of wildflowers after a morning drizzle. The smell in the air here was far from pleasant. Smoke, filth, and even the faint hint of ammonia filled the air. The people too, were different from the people back home. At home, the people were a cheery, well mannered folk. They bowed respectively, and kept themselves clean and in decent clothing. This city, on the other hand, was quite different. He hoped all of the city was not like this. Garbage littered the streets, and wretches lurked in the alleys. People passing would sink away from each other and never looked each other in the eyes. Many thugs were in the area too. He saw them out of the corner of his eyes. Watching as they grumbled, smoked, and sized up the people passing by, as if checking for weak prey. He himself had been attacked twice. Simple hooligans not worth anyone's time. The bodies were more than likely still where he had left them. Probably being ransacked by the riffraff all around him. Just as he was wondering where to head to next, he saw an old beggar-woman passing by on his right side. She seemed so frail, and yet she showed no fear on these dirty streets. As he passed her, he gave a nod and a smile. She stared back in utter bewilderment, as if she had not be smiled to in all her years. She smiled back and continued on her way down a side alley. He almost continued on, but from behind him he heard a small *thunk*. He turned to see that the woman had dropped a small bag. "Miss. Miss!" He called out to her, but she did not seem to hear him. Well deafness at that age is common. He scooped up the bag and followed her into the alley. He was just about to tap her on the shoulder, but then some movement on his right caught his eye. He took a step back and stared at the spot where the movement had been. From in the shadows came a "meow". A small tabby slinked its way from behind a dust bin. The boy let out a small shy of relief. It was silly, he thought, to jump at every little thing. And then the men came out of the shadows.
Six of them, all wearing the same leather jackets, encircled the boy. Many of them were armed with knifes or metal rods. The old beggar too had stopped and turned around. A grin was spreading across her wrinkled face. "Its always the nice little boys that help isn't it sons?" she cooed. "Always ready to help an old lady." She let out a loud cackle. "Now if you could just stay a good boy and give us that bag you have there, and we will let you off with a minor warning." She cackled again, and this time the men laughed with her. The boy let out sigh. He should have seen this coming. "Hurry up boy." she barked at him. "Best not to keep us waiting, or we might not be as nice as we are now." The boy looked to the left, at the man closest to him and tossed him the leather bag. The man dropped his metal pipe and caught it, but no sooner than the bag touched his filthy hands, the boy struck. He grabbed the thug by his face and slammed the back of his head into the wall. Before any of the other gang members could react, the boy kicked the pipe on the ground up into the air, and with another kick sent it reeling towards another thug who ducked, right into the boys left knee. As the second man fell, the old woman let out a banshee like screech. "What are you all standing around for!? Kill the little fuck." The men charged, but in no time at all, the boy made short work of them. Now it was just the hag and the boy left. Te boy straightened his clothes and walked calmly towards the woman. She shrank back in terror. "No! Stay back. Leave me alone!" she wailed, cringing as he stepped right next to her. For a split second, as he brought up his hand, she new he was going to kill her. But then she stared in shock, for the second time, as he held out the small bag she had dropped. "I don't suppose," the boy asked in his sweet, soothing voice, as he dropped the bag into her shaking hands, "you might know where I can get some information about finding people in this city? I'm looking for some one, but I do not have the slightest idea where they might be." He smiled again at here, but unlike the last time, his eyes held no warmth in them. "In...information?' she stammered. "Yes information." The boy replied. "Somewhere that people meet and discuss dark dealings and the like. I fear that might be the only way to find out what I want to know." "Actually now that you mention it I do know a place." she said, talking very fast. "This evening there are some underground fights going on at the old arena. If you go there I'm sure you find out what you want to know. I even have a ticket if you want to go. Here, take it, just please don't hurt me!" she squeaked. She rummaged around in her pockets and pulled out a dirty, bent up ticket. The boy eyed it skeptically. "Its good I swear. Just take it and leave me alone." The boy took the ticket, turned, and after picking up his bag, started to walk from the ally. The woman sank to her knees, her heart pounding. "Oh by the way" the boy called back, causing the hag to go pale. She slowly tilted her head up to look at him, and her blood ran cold. His eyes had a look in them now that could cause demons to have nightmares. "If I ever see you again, I shall rip your heart out through your mouth and hurl you into the ocean." His voice too had become icy, just as it did when that girl was being attacked in the other town. With a shriek of horror, the woman jumped off the ground and barreled down the side street as fast as her old legs could carry her. he boy gave a smirk and continued on. He looked at the ticket in his hand. "An underground fight club might be the perfect place to find out the whereabouts of my brother." he thought aloud. "And if anything, there might be some good matches."