[center][h2]Kitsune[/h2][/center] The first mugger never saw her coming. None of them did really, despite that she was running towards them like a streak of white in the night, but it was only the first that she took by surprise with a flying knee between the shoulder blades. He slammed forward from the impact only to immediately bounce back from a second impact with the wall in front of him with a noise than might have been a crunch; he fell back and did nothing to catch himself as he fell to the floor. The second did see her coming, briefly. He turned away from the young woman that the three of them were cornering in a dark alley, having just enough time to take in what was happening before her foot met the side of his knee and buckled the leg. As he dropped into a crouch, against his will, she caught him in the side of the head with an elbow that saw his eyes cloud over and consciousness leave him. When she turned to the third, she had his undivided attention. She’d ask why they thought it took three people to rob a single young woman but, well, the groan of pain from behind her kind of answered that for her. Kitsune spared a glance for the man behind her, who was slowly rising to his feet while clutching at his nose, before giving him a swift kick to the face that dropped him back down. Turning, she rushed the final assailant as he was reaching for something inside of his jacket, hand digging into an interior pocket of his jacket. A gun? A knife? She never found out, grabbing his wrist as the hand began to emerge and [i]burning[/i] it. The mugger let out a screech of pain as the heat began to do its work. It rolled off of her like a furnace, searing the exposed skin of his face and prickling at his body even beneath the layers of clothing he wore. The pain in his wrist would have been worse however, the direct contact with her own scorching skin so much more intense than the rest. He gave up on whatever he had been trying to pull from his jacket, letting it fall back into his pocket as he instead put all of his effort into escape. She held him for only a second before letting go, not wanting to do any permanent damage, and as he stumbled back from the sudden release she landed a high kick to his temple that put him on the ground with his friends. For a few moments in the aftermath, the only sound was that of her own heavy breathing as the toll of what she had just done hit her. Her breath was uncomfortably warm and humid within the confines of her store bought mask, the same mask that meant she had to turn her entire head to scan the alleyway for more attackers, given the way it blocked her peripheral vision. No more muggers, but she was surprised to see that the woman, the would-be victim, was still there and looking at her with something like awe and fear on her face; most of the time people ran as soon as they had an opening, it was only a few who stuck around to talk to her afterwards. She wished they wouldn’t, but it made things easier in this case. She pointed at the men on the ground and the woman was startled out of her daze once she realised the heroes attention was now on her. “Call the police and then go home. Avoid shortcuts from now on.” The woman hastily nodded and was already bringing out her phone as Kitsune turned to leave. She’d wait a while out of sight, just long enough to make sure they really left once the call ended and to catch her breath; she’d move on after that, go back to patrolling around for a few more hours before calling it a night so she would be ready for classes. It was all the time she could afford to spare, though it didn’t feel like enough. It never felt like enough. Not enough time spent, not enough people saved, not enough of a difference made. She let out a sigh. Not enough. But it was all she could do.