Work from Home

Shino

I spent days trying to investigate the white mono's case. I checked every website known to mankind and every book I could get my hands on, and I asked everyone within the family when.

Nobody knew what that was. Even on the news, the body had been edited to appear like a normal mono.

What that thing was, how it had been created, and what led to it developing like that—all of those questions plagued my mind every evening.

To top it all off, there was one more question that wouldn't let me sleep, and that question was happily munching on the cheapest mochi around as she stood next to me.

"This is so good! I really love this mochi!"

I looked at what Chigira had bought herself. It was a green mochi that tasted like grass. I had eaten my fair share of those, but I would choose another flavor whenever I had the chance. Still, whenever I looked at her, no other flavor would come to mind.

"That reminds me—" she spoke, almost choking on her food. I had to smack her on the back a couple of times.

"Thank you. Now, to my question..."

She made way too much of a scene for a question she could have asked directly, but I didn't mind. I also had something to ask her.

A couple of weeks had passed since I took her out to the mall, and since then I had been doing everything she asked of me. It was about time that I got something out of her.

"Is this thing called money really so hard to get?"

I thought I was prepared for any question, but she still managed to surprise me.

"For many it is, but it shouldn't be the case for me..."

"Then why do you live like this?"

Leading the conversation wherever she felt like Chigira posed a question that had me pondering.

"You buy cheap food, your bedroom has no cute things, and you stay in the dark... Aren't those problems because of money?"

"No... not really..."

I didn't know what to answer. The way I lived was none of her business. Maybe she minded the fact that she had to live in the same conditions, but for someone born out of a flower to be this pretentious was unthinkable to me.

Besides, money had never been a problem for me. Being an assassin paid really well, but the money simply piled up in my bank account. I had no need for it. The only time I would spend was when I had to do something for the mission.

"Then, why do you only spend money on things I want and never spend on yourself?"

Hearing Chigira's question, my hair stood on end for one second. As much as she was an airhead, she was surprisingly sharp when she actually tried.

"You should take care of yourself a bit more. It's unfair!" she said while pushing on my shoulder. She was surprisingly fixed on something I figured was of little relevance.

"Mhm, I will..." I answered bluntly.

If that was enough to have her open up to me, I had to do it. It was just another work expense.

Making a "hmph" sound, Chigira turned her back to me and continued watching movies on The phone I'd bought her.

"Hmph! Hmph! Hmph, hmph, hmph! Hmph... hmph... hmph..."

She kept going. The first time was enough for me to understand that my answer might not have been to her liking, but I had no idea what drove her to repeat the same pouting sound.

"Hmph... hmph... hmph..."

When she crowned those sounds with a sniff of her nose, curiosity finally got the better of me, and I tapped Chigira on the shoulder.

"Hmph..."

She didn't turn around, so I sighed. As annoying as her behavior was, I had no choice but to put up with it.

*Sniff*

Still, it was getting hard to focus on my report. I looked over Chigira's shoulder for just a second, hoping that if I did, she would stop throwing a tantrum.

That's when I saw her teary eyes. I was stunned for a couple of seconds, for I didn't understand what had gotten her so upset.

Then, reflecting in her big eyes, I saw a scene from a movie I was familiar with. I turned my gaze to her screen and noticed that she was looking at the best-rated scene from that movie.

The movie was about the girl who had fallen in love with a robot. The world was focusing on developing artificial intelligence, and it quickly spiraled out of control.

In the movie, the girl and the robot go through many fights and hardships that strengthen the bond between one another—it was that kind of action-romance.

What stood out was the ending. It was an ending in which the robot had to give up on his main body and enter the servers from which the antagonist AI started the war against humanity. A beautifully animated fight follows, and the robot sacrifices itself to beat the evil. Chigira was now watching the aftermath of the battle, where the girl found out that the one she loves is no more.

"No! I can't!" Chigira shouted and put down the phone. She then ran out on the balcony and closed the door behind her.

"Hah... Haha!"

I couldn't help it, and a little laugh got out. For a second, I actually felt worried by the way she was acting. Luckily, it was all because of the movie. The mission did not suffer any setbacks.

"If only you would have watched until the end... It's also got consolation," I said as I flipped the screen. If she wasn't going to watch the part where the robot had left something for the girl, then I would be the one to appreciate it.

"Oh, I almost forgot, Chigira!"

But as I watched the screen, a thought crossed my mind. I was planning on asking her about Tyrant.

I shouted the girl's name, but she didn't answer.

"Ah, maybe I should leave her alone..."

If there was one thing I thought myself good at, it was understanding a lady's heart. I would have failed way too many missions otherwise.

Still, a hint of unrest gripped onto my heart. I'd seen Chigira act completely different from the patterns etched in my brain way too many times. Why was she acting so ladylike now of all times?

Maybe I should check on her, I thought, but that thought was interrupted by a loud bang on the window.

"You didn't lock anything! Just open the door and come in!" I said, trying to help the clumsy girl, but the next thing I heard was the window shattering, and the next thing I saw was the green crown of her head flying right at me.

"Not like that!" I shouted. Having had enough of her creative way to do things, I caught the flying Chigira, ready to scold her.

"Look! You've even cut your forehead doing that!"

I tried to speak to her, but she opened her eyes and jumped out of my arms immediately.

"Shino! Hide!" she shouted with a hoarse voice, and it was only then that I understood what had happened.

One after another, human-looking monos jumped into the room. They were all completely silent. So silent that I hadn't sensed their presence until that moment.

I had a rule of only fighting one monster at once, but there seemed to be no way for me to stick to it.

"He's here! I've felt him before! I know it's him!"

"Him? Who is he?" I asked Chigira, startled by her change of attitude.

"The king of this world—and the one who's killed it..."

*****
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Have you ever carved your name in a tree? 

As the tree grows, you see that scar—your name—grow with it.

Isn't that beautiful?

But it is also selfish...