Just can't stay away [Job, Laura/Alexei]

Job Info:

Laura entered Kagamino City, both her and Bloom (her pet)'s eyes focused on finding the postal center where they were supposed to take the job. It had been a few days since her encounter with the so-called God of Chaos, Alexei, and her mind was still recovering from it. How could a single night have left her with so many questions? It was rather impressive, she had to admit. She felt the piece of paper the 'God' had given her, with the words on it. Part of her wanted to use it now, just to see if it worked; however, she didn't want to inconvenience a random passerby by making them say it, or Alexei in case the prayer actually worked.

So Laura and her companion continued on their path, searching for their target.

Alexei exited the Post Office of Kagamino City, a rather heavy package in his hands. He had been wandering around the city with no clear purpose for the past few days since his encounter with the mute girl and her tree stump companion, letting his mind wander. Eventually, he had decided to perform an act of altruism for whatever reason; maybe there was some sympathy still in him from his meeting, or maybe he had just wanted to break the monotony. Either way, he had made his way to the Postal Office, intending to help deliver a package.

Funnily enough, the men at the office had a package waiting for him; they had said that they had been waiting for their substitute to fill in for the mailman today, and thrust the package (and the delivery paperwork) upon him and all but shooed him out of the door. Alexei didn't mind; he was in a fairly good mood already, so a little terseness wasn't going to get him down. When he looked at the clipboard to see who was supposed to be delivering the packages, he froze. "Not her again..." he muttered, wondering if he should return the package.

Laura and Bloom were approaching the post office. They were not getting nearly as many stares as they had had gotten in Pewter City, Laura noticed; perhaps Kai was more open to monsters than Kanto. Maybe they just didn't have the same hatred of the monsters, since the monsters weren't being blamed for the destruction of the world. Either way, it was a nice reprieve-

And then, she saw him.

Out of the corner of her eye, Laura glimpsed a flash of white hair. She whirled around faster than she thought was possible, not daring to believe it was who she thought it was - but there he was, standing with a package in hand, frowning. It was Alexei, the very same man whom Laura had encountered on her last mission. Bloom, sensing the turmoil, turned and looked too; Laura could tell when he noticed the 'God' by the burst of annoyance she got. Bloom didn't like him much, apparently. Slowly, the pair approached the white-haired man, a million questions on their mind.

As Alexei looked up, he saw the girl who had been on his mind (and her spirit stump companion) approaching him. "Perfect timing," he said, grinning. "I was just looking for you. See, I have this package that I wanted to deliver, and so I went to the Post Office to go get it, but then they gave me a package that you were supposed to deliver, and-"

Alexei cut himself off. Gods, he was sounding like an idiot; he was just rambling to a mute girl who was probably incredibly confused right now. He should just calm down, and get out of the way. "Anyway, this is yours," he muttered, placing the package at his feet and backing away. "I got it by accident, but it's yours to deliver."

Laura watched cautiously as Alexei rambled on about how he got the package, then thought better of it and simply left the package for her to pick up. She approached the package and Alexei slowly, watching Alexei for any funny business like what he had done the last time they met. Once she reached the package and he hadn't done anything, she quickly picked up the package and dashed back, stumbling slightly (the package was heavier than Laura had anticipated).

She checked the address she was supposed to be delivering it to, smiling slightly when she noticed that it was back the way she came. She set off back down the path she had just come from; Bloom gave Alexei a baleful look before following suit.

Alexei watched Laura go, smiling innocently as Bloom shot him a glare; the stump must not like me, he mused as they turned a corner. As soon as they were out of view, Alexei set off after them, walking quickly and quietly. He didn't mean any harm by following them, but he was genuinely curious who the package was for; he doubted it was anybody he knew, but it was better to be safe than sorry. He peeked around the corner to see Laura and her pet walking down the street a ways ahead, ignorant of his presence.

It looked like he wasn't the only one following them, though. From an alleyway a little ways up, Alexei could see a group of kids eyeing Laura with greed in their eyes; they looked like they were up to no good, possibly having something to do with Laura. While Alexei had no intention of getting in Laura's way again, he had no intention of letting a group of eight-year-olds attack her; he prepared for combat, ready to take out the kids if they made a move.

Laura continued down the road, both her and Bloom unaware of the situation taking place behind them. After a few more minutes of traveling, they came across the building that they were supposed to be delivering to; they entered the apartment complex, wondering what was going to come next.

The receptionist inside smiled when she saw Laura, albeit it faded a little when she noticed Bloom. "Welcome to the HB Residences," she said cheerfully. "Can I help you?" Laura approached her, placing the package on the desk and pointing to the clipboard. "Ah, a delivery!" The receptionist said happily. "Jonathan has been waiting for a package for ages. I'll fill out the information, then you can leave and I'll call him down." She quickly filled out the sheet and handed it back to Laura. "Thank you very much, young lady. It's great to see the youth helping out these days." Laura bowed in response, happy that her effort was recognized, before leaving the apartment-

And walking into a scene of carnage.

Alexei turned to face Laura as she left the building, just finishing off the last of the bandit children. "Hello again!" He said brightly, smiling. "These little rascals were plotting to steal your package, so I figured I'd teach them a lesson." He nudged the unconscious body of the child nearest him for emphasis. "Needless to say, they won't be trying to steal any more packages."

Alexei flinched a bit at the sound of sirens in the distance. "Ah, crap. That's probably for us. Let's get out of here before they can grab us." He ran up and scooped up the light Laura, tapping into his Mercuriality ability to double his strength and halve his defense for easier carrying. He took off down an alley, hauling Laura towards the Post Office while avoiding the sound of sirens. The dead tree was following behind them as well, making noises of what Alexei assumed could only be anger at Alexei touching his friend.

Laura left the Post Office, her reward in hand and her mind in a tizzy. She was having conflicting feelings regarding the bizarre man she had become acquainted with over the past few days. On one hand, he was looking out for her and had been instrumental in doing both of Laura's jobs over the past few days. On the other hand, he was beating up children in the name of helping her, and antagonizing Bloom. Bloom was furious that the 'God' had simply swept Laura off her feet and taken off, without so much as a warning; Laura was angry but grateful, adding to her confusion.

She looked behind to see him following her; he smiled warmly when he noticed Laura looking at him. He was a strange one, indeed; they had met twice by coincidence, both times when Laura had needed help. It seemed like fate; perhaps they were destined to travel together, at least for now.

Laura continued down towards the city limits, feeling like the future was an open door.

JOB END

o.o

The member 'Kaseki' has done the following action : Dices roll

'D Class Reward Dice' :