IT'S JUST A JOB, JUST A JOB. . .

". . . okay run it by me again?" She stood there, her leather case slung on her back, her artifact kept safe. She stood in a small cafe with the well known young lord of Hargeon, Reign Valystasia. Chi heard some things about him, but knew very little. She had done a few jobs between Shura and her first meeting on the park bench, and she now stood beside him, trying to make sense of what was asked of them.

"I'm asking for you to help me watch over my niece for the afternoon, I have a meeting I have to get to and others who I hired before all abandoned her. I know he's a tad difficult but she will warm up to you I'm sure." the young lord spoke, and Chi looked at the little girl. The child made a face and stuck her tongue out at Chi, of which Chi replied with the same facial expression in return.

The girl was going to be a hassle, and Chi could already tell she would cause them problems. But both her and Shura would be able to tackle the problem. She was asked to help and of which she would obey.

"What an evil little thing." the voice spoke to Chi. It existed in nothing but her mind. She would silently agree with her own god as she continued to stare down the hellspawn before them.

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IT'S JUST A JOB, JUST A JOB. . .

"Okay then!" she''d say with a cheery smile, looking away from the small demon. Something told her it was going to be hell on earth. Before she could ask another question, the man would be gone to tend to his other royal duties.

"Okay, little one let's go have some fun." Chi would hold her hand out to the little child, only to have her pout and stomp her feet.

". . . Okay, well can I at least know your name?" she'd ask, hoping it wouldn't be a total loss of her day.

She would turn and smile to the man beside her, "And no worries by the way, just glad that we can help the city in some way." But she wouldn't speak of the evils she had done just the day before. After they parted from that bench the man did his own thing and Chi had taken the night to take care of business. She didn't sleep, but again she had slept for hours before she met that man.

"You will address me as your majesty, I'm royalty you know." the girl would finally speak before staring away from them.  "Carry me, peasant."

Oh no.

How Chi hated that word. Now she never beat a kid before, but she was willing to make an exception.

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IT'S JUST A JOB, JUST A JOB. . .

It wasn't until that they got to the beach that Chi finally realized that she had just cleaned her dress, but never fully patched the bottom of it. And here she would enter a beach where again, she would be dirtied by nature.

The three of them would reach the sand, only to have the girl raise her annoying voice for a request of them.

"Peasant, I require seashells." the girl would speak, "I want every shell on this beach."

"What in Maker's hell would you need them all for?" Chi would ask. It was absurd by nature. This girl was insane, even if she was just a child. To get every shell? No. She would get enough to make it seem like she got every shell on the beach. She would dumb shells by the hundreds for this little devil.

"How dare you question me you-"

"Forget I asked. . . As you wish . . .my majesty." she woudl bow before running off onto the beach, stealing a bag from some left behind towel. They must have gone swimming. Chi would return it later, probably. . . .but also probably not. Oh well. Time would tell.

She begun to take up every shell she could find. She would get every damn shell on the beach. She was going to make that kid shut the hell up.

"One shell, two shell, three shell, four shell . . . . "

So she got to work.

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IT'S JUST A JOB, JUST A JOB. . .

She folded up the front end of her skirt, the bandages that wrapped her lower body would be seen. They were tattered like her dress, but appeared to be stained with blood, as if she was injured, or perhaps it wasn't even her own blood. It wasn't enough to cause a scene or a problem, but to the eyes of those that looked, perhaps it would raise a few questions.

In the pocket she had made out of her own attire, she held a good few dozen shells from the size of coins, to ones that even she had trouble holding in a single hand.

She would make her way back to the girl, irritated at her own job, but with enough self worth to make sure that what job she did do, was always a good one. She wasn't going to get the brat get the satisfaction of presenting something Chi wouldn't be able to do. Her own power and skills wouldn't be bested by an infant.

She would make her way to the girl and roll each shell off her dress onto the sand before the girl. She was going to get every damn shell on that god forsaken beach.

She was going to succeed.

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IT'S JUST A JOB, JUST A JOB. . .

Even though the sun was beginning to set, Chi was getting burnt out. She had returned the bag some time ago, the shells mostly in a large pile on the beach. Chi could tell the three of them were burnt out and tired. She would take a large umbrella from a neighboring group, only to quickly explain it was for the lord's niece. They wouldn't argue after she spoke and Chi would follow the two.

She would keep a fast pace, lifting her shade to cover the two of them. "None of us remembered to put on sunscreen. . . at least I don't think so. So this should help." She'd smile, her face red and burnt.

She would follow the man and the small child who seemed to be more and more tired as the way went on, into the forest. They would get there in no more than a few minutes. The sun would be cast behind clouds and Chi would dispose of the umbrella just on the ground. The forest was more of a field with tall grass, bushes and rocks. It looked more like a maze than a forest in her eyes. But with it, she could see the hundreds, no, thousands of beautiful flowers.

Was this part of the child's plan?
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IT'S JUST A JOB, JUST A JOB. . .

Turning to face Shura, her hands were full of various flowers. Petals littered her head and grass stained her dress. She looked nervous, or perhaps excited to be around nature like this, but even so, it wasn't their purpose there. They had a job to do.

"NA NA NA, NOT TODAY!" she called out, dropping all of the flowers. She would sprint into the foliage only to disappear into the leaves. Hopefully Shura would be behind her, looking for the girl as well. If she knew the child well enough, she was starting trouble and was going to make them clean it up.

She would run and duck between tree trunks and large branches. She couldn't have gone far. No, she wasn't distracted for long. The girl had to be close by. The light of the sunset would still give them both good lighting. She could only imagine what the girl was doing. She was most likely making squirrels and other small rodents act as her slaves, picking her berries and other goodies. The thought of it drove Chi mad and furious. She was going to get that girl and bring her ass home to her uncle. She was tired of this bullshit.

It would be no more than five or ten minutes until both Chi and Shura would come together and realize they had searched the majority of the forest. There was only one place left for them to check, and it would be a large tree that was hidden behind brush and other things. Chi would nod to him to show she was ready.

Even if their babysitting turned into a rescue mission, she couldn't let her guard down. Anything could happen in this forest.

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IT'S JUST A JOB, JUST A JOB. . .

"Ooh, I can feel something familiar." the voice rang in her ears as she followed Shura to get the girl. Chi would be silent, listening to her deity. Something was off, something was wrong.

Shura would take the girl, but she couldn't hear what he said, instead the voice, now much more feminine than before spoke to her again.

"It's quite lonely in this box. When we go home, I want you to free me." She spoke out, and it was only then that Chi understood why her god spoke to her. She was going to have to make a choice, but not right now. . . not here.

“I think it’s time we got her home.” the man told Chi. She would nod in silence as she silently followed him.

The three of them begun walking out of the forest and away from the beach. The castle was undoubtedly in the heart of Hargeon, and was the most beautiful building in the city. The girl would eventually make her way to Chi and held onto her dress as they walked up the steps to her home.

Chi would knock on the large doors of the castle, wondering if anyone would have heard her tiny fist compared to the large wooden doors. After a short wait, two maids would open the door happily and hastily. One carried a large bag of money, while the other went to retrieve the girl. They would smile to find the girl so quiet and calm.

". . . Thank you . . " the tiny girl would speak before being taken away.

"You two must have been special." the maid would say, handing Shura the money for them both. "She must have taken a liking to you both."

Chi would smile, only to have her companion suggest for them to leave. Despite the difficulties, she would miss the girl, but she would never again wish to babysit her.

Miss Manji would follow the man back down the stairs of the large fortress, only with her mind lingering on the life she lived before. She would find an outfitter to dress her tomorrow. She would quickly clean herself when the both of them returned to what they called home. She wasn't going to look like a street rat. She had cared for royalty and even assisted nobility. She had left a mark on Hargeon, but their time would be limited. She would find herself elsewhere and would have to look the part. It wasn't her home anymore. She had a mission to take care of, and it was to find her father's killer.

"What do you think this man will do with you when he's done with you?" The voice spoke to her, something she was growing more and more curious about. Everyone had their reasons and their own motives. What was hers?

"What do you mean?" Chi asked, her voice locked away in the back of her skull, forming the front of her brain.

"He smells like Nobunga." The spirit answered. A name was given, one that was foreign and familiar all at once. What did it mean?

". . . Who?" The girl asked, unsure if it was a who or a what. But she had to know. She had to know . . .

"Ah, so you don't know the name of your father's killer. . . " And the answer was given, and Chi was unsure to thank the spirit or to curse it. What would she make of the world . . What would she make of the man?

2020/2000